Mellow
by Mistories
Summary: A series of Angstshipping oneshots. I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.
1. Abandonment

**(A/N)**: Hello all! This is my first fanfic, featuring Angstshipping without the angst. If you don't like yaoi, this pairing, or me, then don't read. I would love some feedback from those that do, and hope to see a/some review/s!

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><p>Abandonment<p>

When I first met Marik, I was a twelve-year-old boy who had just lost his mother and his stillborn sister to a car accident and had been forced to follow my father in the burning country known as Egypt. It was a rather sunny day, and even with the excessive amounts of sun block I still felt the sunburn on the back of my neck as if I were on fire. The sand, I remember, baffled me; I was not used to so much sand and no water to accompany it. It was as if I were at a beach without the relief of cool water, a hellish place with no hope of sustenance.

Meeting Marik was completely an accident. I was following my father through his explorations, when I became completely lost. I don't remember panicking at all, though there was sand, sand, sand and no people, buildings, water. I wandered. I stared at the wide expanse of land. I ran into several rocks at a time, as the sand had concealed them and I didn't watch where I was going.

I don't know exactly when or how I found the tomb, but suddenly I could feel solid rock beneath my feet instead of the vile sand that threatened to pull me under. I felt relief, excitement, even pride at discovering what I thought no one had discovered before, so I decided to explore my new area. The hieroglyphics intrigued me, and I remember taking notes down to show my father when I saw him. There was no doubt in my mind that I would, in fact, see him again.

My note taking had absorbed me to the point where I didn't know there was a boy behind me until he knocked a stone at my head and rendered me unconscious.

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><p>Marik was there when I came to, staring at me fearfully and speaking hastily in a language I'd never heard before. I remember gazing at him, open-mouthed, and wondering if he was an angel. Truth to be told, I was wildly thirsty and delusional, but his hair did shine gold as if it were a halo, and his eyes were such an unnatural shade of purple that I figured he had to be some sort of spirit. I remember the splitting headache I had when I revisited consciousness, as well as Marik's high-pitched, annoying voice that made it all worse.<p>

He kept repeating one phrase over and over, each time with accelerated urgency. I would later learn that he was warning me about his abusive father, but at that point in time, I didn't know what he was saying, so I merely shrugged and lay limply, waiting for him to do something else. I remember vaguely wondering why I didn't understand his language at all, as my father had taught me the basics of Arabic. His annoying voice ceased after a while, and I was left to attempt to comprehend his meaning.

Marik stared at me for a moment before reaching his hand over and pressing my head. I heard a scream, and registered that it was my own. I never felt so surprised at my own voice. It was hurt, pain, and panic all melded together to make a cacophony of desperation. Marik began to panic as well, and he whispered a sentence in an urgent tone before taking my arm and putting it around his neck. He then lifted me up and began an odd, half-walk, half-run towards the outskirts of the tomb.

I felt my tears run down my face, mingling with my sweat. The pain in my head was worse than ever, and I wanted to fall unconscious right then and there. Marik, however, prevented me from doing so, and rushed me away from the tomb. It didn't occur to me that he was running away from something until I heard a faint noise. I could only hear a vague semblance of a shout through my pain, but I noticed that Marik was moving faster and his breaths were becoming shallower. He was taller than me, and stronger, but I still felt that he was far more frightened than I was. I noticed his tears as we made our way to wherever we were going, tears of desperation and loneliness and pain.

We made it a considerable distance from the tomb. I couldn't even see it anymore, and I remember thinking deliriously that Marik had saved me from a hellish encounter, despite crippling me in the first place. I was laughing violently at one point, feeling as if the world was spinning backwards. My mouth, according to Marik, began spouting a bunch of gibberish that confused and scared him greatly. He began speaking Arabic earnestly when I had spoken a couple of familiar words, and I marveled at his capacity to switch languages, but was too far into my madness to respond.

"He's coming, he's coming," he was saying, frightened. Who's coming? I wanted to ask, but I felt my mouth spout a slew of English words that had no meaning, given the place and time.

"I believe rats stove should e-mail father before noon is when dusk starts working," I blabbered. He looked bewildered, and I felt that he was about to have a heart attack upon assuming that I spoke neither of his two languages. Marik frantically spoke in Arabic, simple phrases such as "My name is" and "How are you feeling". I didn't respond, only laughed harder.

My father showed up in the nick of time, just before Marik seemed to lose all hope. My father says, to this day, that he'd never been so relieved in his life to find his little boy. I feel embarrassed whenever he says that, but I also remember how far into the madness I'd been and I look at his admission gratefully. He'd brought a jeep and was about to tour the desert for me, and he probably would've never found me if Marik hadn't carried us both to such a close proximity to the village. My father thanked him, and planted me in the car hurriedly. He said that he wasn't going to let me out of the camp anytime soon, so he wanted to get there as soon as possible to prevent any other chances of getting lost.

Marik had watched us as we left, a small boy in the outskirts of a large village that he'd never even seen before. I watched him grow into a smaller figure, but he didn't move, only watched with his mouth gaping as the car spread the distance between us. Eventually, we lost him to the horizon.

When we got to the campsite, I regained my senses and ate plentiful amounts of food and water. Throughout the entire escapade, I could only envision Marik's face, those beautiful purple eyes tragically watching as I left him somewhere unknown, somewhere frightening and big.

Somewhere akin to the endless sand that had frightened me.

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><p>Every night, I would dream of those eyes. I would see the hair blowing in the wind, filled with dust and sand. I would feel immense guilt for accidentally abandoning him when he hadn't abandoned me. Marik became my issue, my problem that I needed to deal with.<p>

Essentially, I knew that I couldn't live on without knowing what he was up to. A year progressed since the incident, with constant campsite moves and discoveries. I couldn't forget, and I refused to forget, the magnitude of his influence on me. His strength during that short period of time, yet his vulnerability, kept me pondering about his motives and inspirations.

When, one day, my father bustled in with an angry face and a human-sized bundle in his arms, I was intrigued. I stared at the bundle, and realized with cold terror that there was, in fact, a human inside. The telltale blond hair and purple eyes knocked the breath out of me, as well as the putrid smell that emanated from the blanket. I was shocked, and for some reason, jubilant. A grin found its way onto my lips, and ignoring my father's apparent anger I bounced up to the bundle and hugged it.

"Ryou! Leave him alone!" my father barked. My happiness vanished, and I knew something was wrong. Marik wasn't responding to anything, and there were small bruises visible wherever he was exposed, namely on his face and back. I briefly wondered if he was dead before noticing that he was taking shallow breaths, similar to that of a diseased patient.

"What's wrong with him?" an archaeologist asked my father. He glanced at me, and told me to go to the other tent and put on more sun block. I was confused, but nodded and left the tent. I, however, didn't go to the other tent, but lingered outside and wandered to the side where my shadow wouldn't be noticed on the walls. I pulled out my portable tube of sun block and began applying it just in case my father came out to check. After a moment, the pieces of conversation became clear sentences.

"The bruises are where he was punished…numerous times…"

"You mean to say that he was…beaten?"

"More than once, and by more than one person. Who would beat a _child_?"

"That village…didn't our guide say that it had a bad reputation in the first place…?"

"Yes, that was why I was so afraid for Ryou, but I had thought…I had thought that the boy was a citizen."

"What are you going to do with him?"

"I'm going to adopt him. I don't think he has a family anyway. I don't want the same thing to happen to him again, and besides, Ryou would love to have another brother."

I smiled at the thought of Marik being my brother, even though it felt wrong, somehow. I was eager, however, to have him in the family. After my mother and Amane had died, there had been somewhat of a void in my family. Marik would be completely welcome, I was sure of it. I leaned a bit more toward the tent, now more concerned with what exactly happened with him. Luckily, the archaeologist asked a question related to the topic.

"Will he be alright?" he asked.

"I hope so. I dearly hope so. The boy never deserved this treatment. Ryou said that the boy had hit him with a rock in self-defense, an obvious misunderstanding, but had then carried him all the way to the village. What sort of boy who does that deserves to be…enslaved at such a cost?"

My blood ran cold, and the nagging guilt in the back of my head escalated into torment. Child slavery, with frequent punishments, Marik would be scarred for the rest of his life. For a year he had to endure this, and only now was he rescued. I carefully edged to the other tent and clutched my head. I felt exactly as my father felt: Marik didn't do anything to cause anyone harm. How could he deserve something like this? How could anyone allow such abuse? I shivered and hugged myself. The tomb hadn't been that far from the village, just in a vague direction. If Marik hadn't found me, who knows what person would've wandered and found me instead? Marik rescued me, but I didn't rescue him. I felt ashamed.

He woke up at night, and I was there with tears in my eyes. He stared at me, and then recognized me. Marik's eyes widened, and he clutched the pillow my father had placed under him. I reached my hand and patted his hair, ignoring the way he flinched from my hand. My father was sleeping in another part of the tent, but I couldn't sleep well at all knowing Marik was here, and he'd undergone so much. I stayed with him and patted his hair, refusing to leave the way I had at the village.

"I'm never going to leave you again," I whispered in Arabic. "Never ever. I'll protect you." Slowly, Marik opened his eyes. I smiled at him and touched my chest. "My name is Ryou Bakura. I'm from England, but after this expedition, I'm going to go to America and meet new people. I think…I think you're coming with me. Would you like that?" My Arabic was broken in many places, but I could see Marik stare at me quietly. Finally, he lifted his chin a bit.

"My…name is…Marik," he whispered faintly. I felt my heart rise and a blush heated my cheeks. I had no idea what I was feeling, but I remained still and smiled.

"Hello, Marik."

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><p>We were never brothers to begin with. My father noticed that the extent of my fixation with Marik grew every day, and when we arrived in America, neither of us would leave the other's side. As the years passed, we carefully grew. Marik became far more outgoing when he mastered English, and I grew a bit more mature for the both of us. All our friends said that we were polar opposites, with Marik embodying the fiery attitude while I maintained the calm, cool attitude. I wouldn't have it any other way, and even then, I felt that we seemed to complete each other.<p>

There was a time when Duke Devlin began flirting with Marik. It had only been a joke, but that had been the moment where I felt Marik was _mine_, no one else's. The feeling had frightened me with its intensity, and I knew that I had to do something about it, because I didn't want to limit Marik's freedom with my own desires. I asked my father, and to my surprise, he sighed despondently.

"Ryou, do you know what love is?" he asked. I furrowed my brows and said "of course". Who didn't know what love was at my age? All seventeen year olds were practically immersed in it. My father shook his head, and his good humor began to return. "I don't think you understand. Love is something sacred, often desecrated by the people who don't believe in it or feel that it must heed their whims. I lost my love in a car crash, and I regret not having enough time with her as I would have liked. You, however, found love at an early age." I slumped my shoulders a bit at the mention of my mother, but then focused on the more immediate issue.

"Are you trying to say that I love Marik?" I asked softly. The increasingly familiar blush that had developed over the years came to my face, but the way I felt happy confirmed my father's theory. "Does he love me back?" I suddenly felt vulnerable, knowing that the answer to this question had the capability of breaking me into a million different pieces.

"That's up to you two. I am only going to say this: do not let love go so easily. Even if people ridicule you for being…gay, don't leave him. Never leave him."

"Never," I promised. "I already know that, father." He smiled at me, a genuine smile, and let me go on my way. I felt a bubble of anticipation rise in my chest, and it quickly erased the fear. I recited my words, my actions, and my responses to make the one moment perfect. Marik was my everything, and he deserved everything I had to offer him. I was ready, and had everything else ready, when he suddenly beat me to the punch one day during lunch in the cafeteria of our American school, surrounded by all our friends.

"Do you love me?" Marik asked. I felt my jaw drop. I had planned to tell him tomorrow, on a Saturday, during a stroll in the park, but here he was, suddenly, staring at me out of the corner of his gorgeous purple eyes and looking completely adorable with his teeth chewing nervously at his bottom lip.

"Why?" was my immediate response. He stared at the ground, and he reminded me less of the outspoken, loud Marik and more of the soft, shy Marik that I had met for the first time in a hidden tomb in Egypt.

"Because I might love you," he said softly in Arabic. I heard him, however, being accustomed to speaking in a soft voice myself. There were no flowers, no park bench. In fact, it was still lunchtime at school, the most un-romantic place ever, but I still felt the weight of the Earth fall onto our shoulders just then.

"I might just love you back. Why the hypothetical situation?" I asked, with some strength in my voice. He grinned with fleeting humor.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm scared half to death," he said smoothly, his slight shivering the only indication of how nervous he really was. I smiled at him and leaned towards his ear at a proximity I wouldn't approach had I considered us "just friends".

"You don't need to be scared. I told you, I'm never going to leave. I only hope that you won't, either," I whispered in his ear in (improved) Arabic. His hands were in his lap, and he was smiling faintly. Suddenly, he turned and kissed me, right there, in the middle of the lunchroom. It felt brilliant, as if he were agreeing to never leave me with every fiber of his being. I heard Anzu and Yugi gasp, and Joey and Tristan give out catcalls. The kiss ended as soon as it began, but I still had Marik hugging me loosely and gauging my expression at the corner of his eye.

I gave him my biggest grin.

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><p><strong>(AN)**: I'm thinking of doing this in alphabetical order because the first chapter begins with an A. I already have plans for the next few chapters, but suggestions are open for the second half of the alphabet!


	2. Barracuda

**(A/N)**: Hey, look! Another update! This one is...fluffier, in my opinion, and hopefully better than the last one. I don't even know how I did this, because honestly, first person is something I'm very inexperienced at.

Eek! Thanks for the anonymous review, whoever you are! Hopefully you find this chapter just as scintillating as the last.

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><p>Barracuda<p>

The annoying kid is at the aquarium that I, Marik Ishtar, work in, as he is every week ever since two months ago. While I have to stay rooted to a spot and provide information to people who don't know what's what in the aquarium, he heads to the fish department directly in my line of sight. He examines the Barracuda exhibit, as he always does, with his eyes following the fish everywhere it goes. He's infuriating, with his white hair and brown eyes and blue clothes and…_stuff_! Ishizu said that I had to be nicer and considerate, but it's so hard when the same person comes every day to the same exhibit and he's just plain irritating!

I pinch the bridge of my nose to calm myself down. Just because _Ryou Bakura_ has a fixation with fish doesn't mean that I have to care. All I care about is cleaning the tanks and feeding the fish. In fact, I hate the barracuda that Ryou is so attached to because it always _bites_ me whenever I feed it. I have _so many scars_ from my encounters with the demon, and I half-wish that Ryou could feed it so that _he_ would be the one who gets bitten.

Once, I'd voiced this to Ishizu and she'd become angry. Since she taught history at my school, she knew just how much of a straight-A student Ryou was, and still is. She knew exactly how he always has a good attitude to his teachers and fellow peers, and how _everyone_ loved him. I never get that attention because I'm gay, and the teachers give me freaked-out glances instead of worshipping the ground I walk on, like they worship Ryou. It, frankly, makes me sick, but to Ishizu, Ryou deserved the attention. She said that Ryou is nice to everyone and never hates people based on their actions, even if they're worth crap. I think he's a pansy who doesn't deserve recognition for his "niceness" or whatever. I'm not saying that he should hate everyone, but come on! I wish he would man up a little!

Luckily, Ryou leaves at exactly five o'clock. I work at the aquarium from after school (three o'clock) to seven o'clock. Ryou can't ruin my _entire_ day…even if I spend over half of it with him. I watch him scribble something undoubtedly unimportant in his little worn notebook, then place it in his jacket pocket and watch the barracuda some more. I glance at the clock, and sigh in relief when I notice that it's ten minutes to five. I don't know how Ishizu and the other students can handle more than four hours of this kid, but I don't want to learn their secret.

The clock ticks five, and I give an audible sigh of relief from the desk I'm manning. I wait for Ryou to leave, and wait, but he doesn't move. I frown. It's Tuesday, so the kid's bound to have homework! I scowl at his form, thanking Ra that he's turned away from me. Ten minutes, then twenty pass, and still he's not moving from the spot. I look directly at him and snort in disgust.

"Hey, you," I call. "It's five twenty. Don't you have homework to do?" Ryou turns slightly, and smiles at me faintly.

"Oh, sorry, I must've lost the time!" he responds with sugary-sweetness. "I'll be going, then. Um, goodbye!" I roll my eyes and wave my hand. I would've liked him to make a snarky remark about my own homework or something, but instead he ducks his head and makes his way out.

"Yeah, yeah, don't kill yourself on the way out," I reply lazily. "On second thought, please do." Ryou tenses. He stares at me with hurt, then nods and leaves hurriedly, possibly at my threatening tone. I congratulate myself on scaring him off; he's so annoying! He's too nice, and doesn't know that the entire world doesn't have to love him. It was _sickening_. Everyone has their share of enemies, but Ryou Bakura? No way.

I couldn't wait to tell Duke, my best friend, of my accomplishment over Ryou. Duke didn't mind Ryou that much, but he knew that I did and that Ryou's personality simply got on my nerves. He compares my hatred of Ryou to some people's hatred of chocolate. I don't approve of the analogy, but whatever floats his boat is fine by me. He's the only person who'd wanted to hang out with the gay guy who had a serious attitude, so I can't really complain about his views at the risk of scaring him off.

I stare at the barracuda. It stares back, as if it knows that I'm going to feed it and it's waiting for a chance to kill me. I grimace, but take out some dead fish and toss it in the tank. The barracuda watches and waits, and I know that it isn't going to eat until I stick my hand in there. I frown and do so. Immediately, it darts forward and grabs the food in my hand, but tears it off and darts again for my hand.

I scream. The stupid fish bit in the exact same spot it had bitten before, and the old wounds reopen with devastating pain. I take the damn fish and swing it to the opposite wall above the tank. It hits the wall and bounces back into the water. I don't care if my boss sees the fish swim funny. It can die in there, but at this point, I'm sick of being bullied by a lesser being. I dump the rest of the food in there and, to my dismay, the barracuda is intact and waiting for another helping of Marik's Hand. I ignore it and leave, disgusted at the fish and the person it attracts.

As I walk home, anger burns a hole through my head. I'm not in the mood to do anything but laze around when I get home. Screw homework, my day's been crappy.

I take the normal route to my house because it's still daylight. Summer's almost here, so the days are steadily getting longer. I smile at the greenery around me and marvel at how I went from an angry mess to such a peaceable figure. I even feel somewhat bad at how I snapped at Ryou, with certain limitations. After all, he _is_ pretty annoying, even if he didn't _do_ anything to me.

I kick a rock and sigh. In hindsight, I was pretty mean to him, and I wouldn't blame him for hating me. The more I think about it, the more I figure that it's time for an apology. I think that tomorrow, I'll apologize to Ryou so that I can hate him once more.

Just when I think I'll apologize, he suddenly appears. I immediately balk, because damn, he looked _scary_. Now that I think about it, Ryou does have a brother that's too cool to have a first name…maybe _he's_ the scary looking white-haired dude looking like he wants to kill me…

"Marik," he says, and I know that it's Ryou. His voice was at a higher pitch than that of most males, and as I approach I realize that he has that girly look that is distinctively Ryou's. I frown at him, and make my way toward him with all intent to apologize.

"Listen, Ryou-" I begin, but suddenly, he starts to glare and stops me right in my tracks. Ryou? Glaring? He's usually so mild-mannered that I was gobsmacked.

"No, _you_ listen Marik," he snaps. "You had no right to treat me like you did at the aquarium." I hold back a snort of disbelief. He's _lecturing_ me? I know I was wrong, but he doesn't need to be such a _parent_ about it! I lift my chin up and stare down at him with a challenge in my eyes.

"Sorry, _Mom_, I'll be sure to treat you better next time. Maybe a piece of candy oughta do the trick?" I sneer. Ryou's eyes harden, and he clenches his fists. Then, right before my eyes, he starts to _cry_. Man, how girly could this guy get? I merely wrinkle my nose in disgust and then attempt to walk past him. His arm shoots out, and I find that I can't move _at all_.

It's actually scary. Ryou has my arm in a death grip, and his face is down so I can't see his expression. I feel myself become mute in surprise. Who knew that the kid had it in him?

"Oh, you're not going anywhere," he chokes, half furious and half sobbing. "Not until I have my say." I feel my words coming back, but without hostility.

"What do you want?" I ask, somewhat dreading the answer. I struggle with his grip, but I can't dislodge it. And it _hurt_, what with his nails piercing my skin and all. He's clenching my upper arm, right below my armband, with such ferocity that I suddenly realize that I'm _scared_. Of _him_. I'm scared of sweet, innocent little Ryou.

"I don't like bullies. I find them annoying, actually," he replies. "You're coming with me." I felt a twinge of fear run through my body, giving me terror like nothing else.

"No," I say, backing away. His grip becomes bone-crushingly tighter, and I scream just as I did with the barracuda. He was crushing the same arm that had suffered the bite! I clutch at the arm with agony, and am astonished to find mini-rivers of blood running down it. I try to pry Ryou off, but he merely drags me, screaming, to a nearby house.

It's torture. I think I felt his nails touch my bones. I follow him willingly, if only to lessen the pain, and he loosens his grip a little. He greets Bakura, who glances at my suffering with a demonic eye and starts to cackle. Ryou's face, however, remains grim and stony. He pulls me upstairs with the bad arm, and I yowl in anguish. All that's in my mind right now is pain, and how there's absolutely no way to stop it at this current time…

I notice that something is off the moment he throws me on the floor of what looks like a bedroom. I feel myself beginning to panic as he then grabs the cuff of my neck and brings me to the ground. Was he going to rape me or something?

"Marik," he says again, deliberately slow, as if talking to a child. "I do hope you regret your actions." I look at him, wide-eyed and frightened.

"What are you going to do to me, you freak?" I gasp, clutching my bleeding arm. Ryou looks up, and I see eyes leaking tears yet looking furious at the same time.

"I want to tell you something," he says. I watch as he hugs his chest. "Bakura says that I have to be mean in order to get what I want." I stare at him with foreboding. "I didn't want to be mean, but there's something…I really want. I'm sorry for hurting you…even if you deserved it."

"What the hell are you talking about? I didn't deserve it; I didn't even touch you!" I shout, becoming more scared by the second. I can't feel my arm anymore, and that scares me shitless. The warning bells are ringing in my head, but it was too late to escape now.

"You didn't have to touch me to deserve it, Marik," Ryou replies. He looks down and sighs. "You're panicking."

"Quite obviously," I bite back. I glance down at my arm, and stare at the blood trails with fright. It was unnatural, the way they oozed down. I watch, shocked, as they mingle from the bandage from my previous encounter with the barracuda. This wasn't fair!

"I only wanted to talk to you," Ryou says. "I knew that you wouldn't talk to me otherwise, so I had to hurt you. I'm sorry." I look up and glare at him. I can't trust Ryou for one second, but I _can_ listen to him. Hopefully, he would let me get the fuck out of here when he was done.

"So? What the hell do you have to say to me?" I snap. Ryou flinches at my cuss word, and I lift my chin up menacingly. "You got me alone, now what do you want?"

"I wanted you to know that…you really hurt me today," he stutters. I roll my eyes and collapse backwards onto the bed. If he wants to talk, he'll talk. I won't weasel it out of him. He gives a small gasp when I collapse into his bed, and I look up, confused. His face is red as he looks at me, and I suddenly feel uncomfortable.

"What? Is there something wrong?" I ask harshly. "Besides the fact that I'm _still_ bleeding from the cuts you gave me?" If he was upset at the fact that I was getting blood on his sheets, then he could deal with it. Ryou closes his eyes and takes deep breaths, and his face lessens in redness. I'm curious now, though, so I decide to figure out what the hell his problem was. "Ryou, what the hell-"

"Don't _do_ that!" he suddenly whines. I raise an eyebrow. I wasn't _doing_ anything! Before I could open my mouth, Ryou speaks again. "Don't lay on my bed like…like _that_!"

"Oh yeah, real specific," I mutter. "What, you prefer another method to laying oneself down in bed?" Ryou blushes and buries his face in his hands. He shakes his head slowly, and his shoulders shake alongside it. I sigh exasperatedly, because I have to do my homework and Ryou's just making things complicated. "Okay, Ryou, what did you want? I have homework to finish, you know. I know that you didn't bring me here just to say that I should treat you better." Ryou peeks through his fingers in a way that any girl in our school would say was adorable. I growl with contempt.

"_That_," he says. "_That look _that you keep giving me is what I want to stop. I…I wanted you here because, well, I really like you, Marik." My jaw drops, and I'm completely floored. How can he like me? He just drilled holes into my arm!

"Look, I'm not about to be friends with someone who nearly killed me-" I begin.

"No…no, Marik. I really, really like you," he mutters. I stare at him with furrowed eyebrows. I don't know if he means that he idolizes me, or is in love with me. I decide to consider it the former, because the latter is way too weird.

"You can idolize me all you want, Ryou, but you have to do it from afar," I say harshly. "No offense, but I think you're a bit too creepy to be my friend." This makes him droop visibly, like a plant that's not watered. He looks up with pure torture in his eyes, and looks back down helplessly.

I don't like it. I don't like seeing Ryou so helpless and sad. The reason I hate Ryou so much was because he's usually so happy and well liked, but this misery isn't it. This sadness is like an injustice: undeserved. I guess Ryou's a good person, and I shouldn't hate him for being sociable. It's a natural thing with him, I figure.

"I'm sorry," I say, and I lift myself from the bed and make my way over to him so that we're at a comfortable distance from each other. "I've been judging you without even knowing you. You're so sociable, and I'm kinda…jealous." I laugh awkwardly, and he looks up at me warily. I continue, "I understand what you're trying to say, and if it makes you feel better, I could be your friend. The main reason I didn't want to be your friend, besides the whole jealousy factor, was because you were so well liked by others that I found it annoying. _Really_ annoying." I smile at him, and hold out my uninjured hand. I don't know why, but for some reason I figure that he won't hurt me this time. He stares at me with his weird look.

"Marik, I'm afraid you _don't_ understand," he whispers. I look at him with confusion, slowly lowering my hand. "I have this huge crush on you, and I've had it for ages." His voice is so soft, and I barely catch his words. Did he just say what I think he said?

"Um, what?" I ask uncertainly. "You were speaking really quietly there…" He looks up at me, frustrated.

"There was a _reason_ that I came to the aquarium every day for two months now, and it wasn't so we could become _just friends_!" he snaps. "I was taking a more passive approach, trying to get the nerve to ask you out, but no…" Ryou hugs himself and looks at me reproachfully, and I'm shocked, again, at this change in events. "You always looked at me with anger and disgust, and for the longest time I couldn't figure out why. Now that I know, I think that you're a stupid, insensitive _jerk_!" I flinch at his words. "Just go away. Nevermind about what I said." I stare at him, my mouth wide open. "Bakura was right, the aggressive approach was the way to go. Just _leave_!" he barks. I flinch, then back away. I dart out the door and pretend that I don't hear the sobs coming from the room.

* * *

><p>I guess my life is a living hell now. Ryou didn't tell anyone, but now he doesn't look at me and doesn't even speak when I ask him a question. I hate the silence, and I never really noticed how much a part of my life Ryou was before now. I watch him out of the corner of my eye, realizing what he usually does and comparing it to what he doesn't do anymore. He doesn't say good morning. He doesn't save my ass in class when I don't know the answer to a question. He doesn't say "hi" when we pass through the halls. I never knew that I was so dependent on his contact, the contact that I scorned. Now, I feel like crap.<p>

Miho, a friend of Ryou's, suddenly comes up to my locker one day and giggles. I look at her the same way I look at any of Ryou's friends now…with envy.

"Hey, I know you hate Ryou, right?" she says, and I wonder _how_ she could be so bubbly about the topic. "Well, I think that he's-" here, she turned her eyes left and right, as if wondering if people were listening in to our conversation. Then she leans forward and whispers in my ear "-_gay_." She pulls back and laughs. "Can you believe it? And here I thought that I had a chance with him…I guess I saved myself from embarrassment. I mean, asking out a gay guy?" To anyone else, her comment isn't bad at all. But she specifically came to me, thinking that I didn't like Ryou, and talked about him as if he were dirt, and not her friend at all. That pisses me off.

"I'm gay, too," I tell her. I was open about it, but Miho probably only knew that I "hated" Ryou because she's cruel and oblivious. She stares at me, and her mouth parts a bit. "Despite what you may think, I didn't hate Ryou because he was gay. I didn't even know that he _was_. I hated him because he was brilliant, and I couldn't handle that. You don't deserve to have the right to be called his friend." I'm raising my voice slightly, but I don't care. "You should leave him alone. If you still think you're worthy of being called his friend, you're stupider than I initially thought!" I'm not shouting, but I sound bitter, and the sharpness in my tone drives Miho away. Téa sidles up to me, and sighs.

"Thanks, Marik," she says. "Miho betrayed Ryou's trust. She's been telling everyone that he's gay. Honestly-" she turns to face me, her brown eyes glinting in anger. "I think you were stupid for judging him like that." I nod in guilty understanding, and she continues. "But I think you should be the one to talk to him. He's really torn up, and he needs someone close to him."

"Not to sound mean, but aren't you guys his friends?" I ask her. "Why aren't _you_ going to him and comforting him? He kinda hates me right now." Téa smiles.

"He's completely in love with you. Don't tell me you didn't see at least a glimpse of his notebook at the aquarium," she replies. I blush heavily, and she chuckles. "Yeah, he doodles your face from the reflection of the tank and stuffs the notebook in his pocket. That's what he told me, and honestly, I think it's cute. He looks at the barracaida when he thinks you're watching him. And as for your question, we're his friends, sure, but we aren't as close to him as you think. We care about him, but he's the type of guy who has a bunch of friends and no real _best_ friend. You should go. I want you to be his best friend. Maybe talk to him about the barracaida or whatever."

"Barracuda," I correct her softly. "Where is he?" Téa smiles.

"He's in the boys' bathroom. Yugi's trying to talk to him but, evidently, he's not making much progress…" I nod to her hurriedly, and dash off.

"Thanks!" I splutter before leaving. This is my chance to make it up to Ryou. I'm scared to death, and hope that he doesn't push me away or something. I turn corners and ignore the gossiping people. Curious students surround the boy's bathroom, but luckily, Joey and Tristan are blocking the way. I stop in front of them, panting, and motion towards the door. As if they know why I'm here, they shove me in without letting me prepare myself.

Tears fall off of Ryou's face as he stares at himself through the mirror. I hardly register the fact that Yugi was there as I run to Ryou and hug him fiercely. Ryou's face is devoid of emotion, and I start whispering "I'm sorry" over and over again. Yugi leaves the room, and it's just Ryou and me at the sink, me hugging him from behind.

"I hope you know that I told Miho off. I hope you know that I told her that I'm gay, too," I babble. Ryou suddenly turns to me and shoves me, wiping the tears from his eyes. The force of the shove, even if it was one-handed, knocks the breath out of me due to his hidden strength. I sadly look at him, knowing that he has every right to hate me for what I've done. "I'm sorry, Ryou." I'm surprised at how broken I feel. I didn't even know people could feel this broken. It made me want to crawl up in a hole and die.

"'Sorry' doesn't fix anything, Marik," Ryou hisses. "Just why are you here? _I_ hope _you_ know that I'm at a low point in my life right now, and if you decide to screw me over, you couldn't have chosen a better time." For some reason, I see through his façade as clear as glass. He's in severe pain, pain that comes with betrayal two times over. I know that part of it is on my account.

"You're a strong man, Ryou," I say quietly, realizing this even though I thought he was weak only a week before. "You don't have to prove anything to me. I know…I know what I said before was wrong. I was jealous that you could have so many friends, so I rationalized it by saying that you were so weak and dependent that you couldn't bear to be rude. I know that that isn't the case now. I know…that you're someone who's stronger than the rest and deserves to be admired for it, not punished." Ryou doesn't move, but stays standing, staring at me. "I may not feel the same way you do, but I at least want to be friends. Whaddya say?" His face takes on a pained expression.

"This is serious, Marik," he begins. "You broke my heart that day. You really did. I thought highly of you, and I still do. I would be friends with you in a heartbeat, but…I don't know if I can trust you." I smile at him, getting up and approaching him again. He stares at me without any hate or love, but I look past it and hug him gently. I rub his back, and he sighs into my shoulder. I hold him tighter.

"I'm hoping to make amends, Ryou," I reply. "But I'm also being selfish. I want more than just your forgiveness…maybe we can be acquaintances? I don't expect you to trust me right away or anything, because I don't even know you all that well, but…" I gulp. "I'd like to." Ryou stares at me, and slowly, a fragile grin breaks across his face.

"I'd…I'd actually like that very much," he laughs, and I can only grin and hug him even harder.

* * *

><p>The cheesiest part of the entire outing is the place. It was Ryou's idea, for the record.<p>

The barracuda stares at me, hungrily, and waits for a bite of my hand. Today, however, I'm off-duty and I don't need to feed it. I grin and make a face at it, and Ryou looks at me strangely.

"Marik, you do realize that you're taunting a fish?" he asks, stifling his laughter. I huff.

"That fish is the reason my hand was torn apart. More than once, in fact!" I exclaim. Ryou stares at the fish analytically, then at me. His face then breaks into a smile, and he takes my hand.

"C'mon, we're going to feed the barracuda," he explains. I balk.

"No way! Did I not just tell you of my issue with that fish?" I reply. He then gives me his puppy-dog eyes, and I balk some more at the persuasion. It's very good, professional even, how he works that look. I give a frustrated sigh and relent, bringing out the fish food. Ryou grins at me and pats me on the shoulder. "Is this how it's always going to be?" I grumble playfully. "You giving me those eyes and me relenting every time so that you can give me a friendly gesture afterwards?" Ryou's face turns pink, but he nods happily and takes a hold of my hand. I blush, and was about to remind him that we were supposed to be _just friends_, when he spoke.

"Take off your jewelry, _then_ feed the fish. I think that it's only attracted to the shiny metal," he explains.

"Are you sure?" I ask skeptically. "I don't want our first friendly outing to have to end up in a hospital…and I don't know how much abuse this arm can take." Ryou's face turns apologetic, and he glances one of the nail marks on my bicep with regret.

"I'm still sorry for that," he says quietly. "I did somewhat overreact." I blush and wave it off.

"We already made up for it," I laugh. "I just don't want it to get injured before I heal. It hurt like hell last time." Ryou smiles at me.

"I've been watching that fish for a while now. Trust me, it only likes shiny things," he says smugly.

"I do trust you," I say quietly. I climb the ladder after grinning at Ryou's blushing face, and take off my bracelets. I plunge my hand into the barracuda tank.

And Ryou was right, the barracuda never touched it.

* * *

><p><strong>(AN)**: ...And there you have it! Tell me if there's anything I have to improve on, and if you have any ideas for the letters P-Z (especially Q and X...)


	3. Counseling

**(A/N): **I'm back! I could only think of this for the letter "C," and I know it's cliché and overused, but I've wanted to try new things and to see how I could twist this situation up a bit. Well...here goes!

* * *

><p>Counseling<p>

Ryou commended himself for being tact enough to merely listen to Marik's caustic insult and not actually _do_ anything about it. He sighed and buried his head in his hands, looking through his fingers at the place they'd ended up. All sorts of husbands and wives lined the corridor, some bickering through stiff lips, and others remaining perfectly motionless, as if one move may break what little relationship they had.

They were meeting a marriage counselor, one of the very best. Ryou gave another light groan before bending his head down. He felt miserable, and somewhat sick. He and Marik didn't need any help. So what if they'd had a few arguments here and there? Marik, however, insisted on coming to the counselor, saying something about how "this was all over his head." _That_ made Ryou even sicker. He liked to think that their conflicts were all just a part of a cycle, one that comes after every honeymoon phase. Marik thought differently, and here they were, Ryou groaning in humiliation every five minutes and Marik nervously trying to look at anything else but him.

"The Bakura family?" a voice called. Ryou and Marik stood up slowly, avoiding eye contact and walking stiffly toward the door, where a blonde lady stood, her face impassive as she studied their interaction critically. Ryou realized what she was doing, and he averted his eyes from both her and his partner, finding the opposite wall extremely interesting. He wished, not for the first time, that Ishizu were there to predict whether the result of this escapade would really bring Ryou and Marik back together. The thought that he would lose Marik honestly didn't seem like that big of a sacrifice as it had when they'd been married.

Ryou stiffened slightly, wondering if he should have been having those thoughts. Marik didn't noticed, but the blonde lady's eyes snapped toward him and looked at him with renewed interest.

"My name is Mai," she said warmly, completely changing her analytical behavior. Ryou narrowed his eyes at her while Marik smiled weakly. "I'm going to be your counselor." She closed the door behind them and began walking briskly down the hallway. "Follow me into my office. I'm the only gay marriage counselor, so I have a rather lavish one." She smiled, and opened a beige door that looked polished and hardly used. Ryou shrank a bit further, looking away slightly. Marik didn't notice that they were probably the only couple that ever had to use this room for a long while. He gave Ryou a brief glance, and Ryou met it. He sighed, then entered the room with Marik right behind him. Mai sat at her desk and glanced at them with her analytical stare.

"Uh, there are no chairs," Ryou squeaked, playing with his hands nervously. Mai nodded.

"Whoever bottoms sits down on the floor first," she said flatly. Immediately, Marik and Ryou flushed a deep red.

"Relationships don't necessarily need someone who bottoms," Ryou stuttered. Mai sighed.

"I know that, but I need someone to start working on first," she explained. Ryou and Marik glanced at each other, but looked away immediately. Ryou cleared his throat harshly and glared at the floor.

"Well, Marik got us into this mess, anyway," he growled, not making it clear whether he meant the counseling session or his relationship with Marik in general.

"We'll start with you, then," Mai said, peering at Marik. "Ryou, step outside. We'll talk at the next session." Ryou immediately straightened and walked outside. Marik shared another uncomfortable glance at him as he closed the door. When it shut, Mai turned to him. "So, then, Marik, what would you say is your greatest grievance when being around Ryou?" Marik stared at her unsurely.

"It's when he ignores me, I think," he said quietly. "I start insulting him when he ignores me." Mai smiled and nodded, encouraging him. "Well, I thought that insulting worked to get attention, but now, I can't seem to stop." He fiddled with his fingers. "I keep calling him names, and we don't get anywhere."

"Do you think he deserves it?" Mai asked. Marik stared at her sadly, and shook his head.

"I just…I can't stop hurting him," he said, feeling drained. "But it's just that he infuriates me to the point of breaking!" Marik folded his arms and looked down, an imperceptible look on his face. "He's always so calm and collected whenever I have my blowouts. I mean, could he be a bit more compassionate?" He suddenly caught himself, and glanced at the door worriedly. Mai followed his gaze.

"The doors are soundproof, Marik. You don't need to worry," she reassured. Marik looked down, wringing his hands.

"It's just that I'm not supposed to say those things," he muttered. "Ishizu always taught me to be grateful for what I have. Now look at me," he sighed. "I'm an utter mess."

"Marik," Mai said, standing up. "You're the one who called and scheduled an appointment with me. You obviously want to fix things, and it isn't a bad thing to ask for help. Don't regret your decision." Marik snorted.

"Tch, you only want to make money," he drawled. Mai raised her eyebrows, then furrowed them in confusion.

"That was offensive," she replied. Marik stared at her, utterly floored.

"It…was? I was only joking," he murmured. Mai smiled in understanding, and gestured for Marik to stand up. Once he did, she pulled out a book from her desk.

"Take this and read to me what it says," she said. Marik took the book curiously, and looked up at her.

"All of it?"

"No, just the first couple of pages," she replied. Marik carefully lifted the worn, red cover and saw that it was a journal with two handwritings. Mai leaned over and looked at the entry. "Read the top line, and I'll read the second one. I think you'll realize something."

"Okay…'You wouldn't believe what happened to me today,'" Marik began. Mai took the book from him and cleared her throat.

"'What, you got fired? Finally,'" she replied sarcastically. Marik raised an eyebrow, but continued.

"'You know that's not what I meant. I just got the new video game I'd wanted.'"

"'Oh, sweet! Could I play with you? It's not like you have anything better to do.'"

"'Well, it's brand new. I want to play it first.'"

"'You're such a jerk! You'd still be 'playing it first' if I played with you!'"

"'Is it too much to ask for one game by myself?'"

"'Yeah, cause you're always a _jerk_ about it! I mean, honestly! You always do this; get something, tell me, then do it by yourself! Sometimes I wish that you didn't _exist_!'" Mai shouted. Marik opened his mouth to retort, feeling angry, but the page had ended. He moved to turn the page, but Mai stopped him. "That's all, Marik. Did you realize anything?"

"Yeah," Marik growled. "The guy who kept calling the other guy a jerk was an asshole!" Mai raised an eyebrow at him and folded her arms.

"What did he do?" she asked. "Why was he an asshole?"

"He didn't even listen! I mean, if the other guy wanted to play a video game by himself, then he should've let him!" Marik exclaimed. "_He's_ the asshole!" There was a pause as Mai looked at him analytically.

"Who do you think is most like you?" she said quietly. Marik froze, thinking back on the conversation. Mai continued, "Are you the first person, or the second person?" Marik processed her question, and fell limp.

"I'm the asshole," Marik replied, upset and suddenly wanting to leave. "I'm the one who always butts in and doesn't appreciate the fact that Ryou wants to be alone." Another pause stretched, and this time, Mai took the reigns.

"That's right. The two men whose conversations were recorded had the same predicament that you two have. The second man didn't mean any harm, like you, but if you put yourself in someone else's shoes, you'll see just how harmful your words can be," she explained. Marik slumped and stared at his hands. Suddenly, he straightened and looked toward the door.

"Um, thank you." He got up and began to walk out. Mai stopped him by placing her hand on his arm.

"Marik, I'm not here to insult you. You are _not_ an asshole," she said forcefully. "I know that you only have the best intentions. I think that your only problem is that you 'joke' too often with Ryou. Your 'jokes' _hurt_. All you have to do is watch what you say for a bit. It's not an easy process." Marik looked at her mournfully, but she smiled. "I've had more clients than I can count who've had the same problem that you do. I'm happy to report that they've undergone a complete success. But it was all their doing. You have to take charge of yourself. Maybe, if you stop hurting Ryou, he'll stop hurting you."

"But-" Marik began. Mai held up her hand.

"I know that Ryou has to work out some things, too, but I'll talk to _him_ about it," she said. Marik nodded softly, and folded his hands. "All you have to do is pay attention to that mouth of yours. If you start running it off, don't forget to say that you're sorry."

"Okay. Thank you, Mai," he replied, giving a small smile. He turned and walked out of the room. Mai sighed, knowing what was to come. As Marik left, Ryou kicked off the wall outside the door.

"So, what did she say?" Ryou asked curiously. Marik turned to him and sighed.

"That I should watch my mouth," he replied. "I say a lot of shit when I only mean to joke." Ryou scoffed.

"See? Prime example of her incapability," he replied. "You don't need to watch your mouth. That isn't the issue here." Marik looked at him for a moment, then turned away.

"All the same, I kinda realized that I 'joke' around too often," he said. "I'm sorry if it hurts you. I don't…honestly, I don't mean for it to." Ryou gave him a side-glance, and chuckled a bit.

"It's alright," he said. "Like I said, not a problem." Even so, Marik noted, Ryou seemed to walk a bit closer to him than before. Marik smiled, hoping for the best.

* * *

><p>It was a lazy afternoon while Marik lounged on one of the chairs in the backyard, sunbathing. He felt agitated, and knew that it would cause a blowout if he were provoked. Still, he was enjoying his sunbath. Ryou wouldn't be back for a while, anyway.<p>

Or so he'd thought. The backyard door had opened, and Ryou entered with a glass of lemonade. Marik turned away slightly, looking at the grass on the left side.

"Hey," Ryou greeted. Marik gave a small, forced smile.

"Hey," he replied. Ryou sat on the lawn chair to his right, sipping his lemonade calmly. He let out a satisfied sigh and propped his legs up onto the lawn chair. Marik grew even more upset, but he couldn't figure out why. He tried to sort his thoughts out. Did he want Ryou to talk to him? Did he want him to stay silent? It seemed that the only thing that was annoying him was Ryou himself…

"How was your day?" Ryou asked casually. Marik felt that the sentence was all wrong, but for the life of him he couldn't figure out why.

"Fine," he answered curtly. Ryou glanced at him curiously, but didn't say anything. Marik suddenly felt his agitation burst a bit. "Why do you always leave and hang out with Yugi and his friends?" he asked Ryou with a slight bitterness in his tone. Ryou, needless to say, was caught off-guard.

"Do you want me to _stop_?" he asked in surprise. "I wasn't aware that I wasn't allowed to have friends."

"That wasn't what I fucking meant and you know it," Marik snapped vehemently. "I just don't get what's so important about _them_ and what's so bland about _me_!" Ryou sat up in his seat angrily.

"I spend almost _all my day_ with you! I was only gone for an _hour_!" Ryou exclaimed. Marik stewed, and thoughts about Ryou having fun with his friends instead of him infuriated him beyond belief.

"I guess I'm not good enough, eh?" he snapped again.

"Ra, Marik, you're such a ASSHOLE sometimes!" Ryou shrieked, slamming his lemonade down onto his armrest and standing up. Marik froze as Ryou stormed away, his mind replaying the word "asshole" over and over. He shivered, and took a deep breath.

"I'm the asshole right now," he muttered in realization. He got up slowly, grabbed Ryou's lemonade, and walked inside. There, he found Ryou silently stewing in front of the television, flipping channels at a pace that clearly signified that he was really not looking for anything at all. Marik set the lemonade on the counter and made his way to the couch. He sighed as Ryou stiffened, and Marik suddenly hugged him.

No words were said. Marik nuzzled his head into Ryou's chest, and barely registered as Ryou turned off the television. He began to cry silently, hoping that Ryou wouldn't see. Ryou looked down at the man in his arms and sighed in sadness. He wrapped his arms around Marik, holding him close.

"I'm sorry," Marik choked, and Ryou stiffened a bit when he realized that Marik was, in fact, crying. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I keep hurting you."

"Oh, love," Ryou replied softly. "You're not hurting me, you're not." Marik held him tighter as he wept, and Ryou felt his heart wrench. His concern transformed into anger at the counselor. "It's _her_ doing, isn't it?" he snapped. "Mai. She's the one who upset you." Marik clumsily shook his head, face still planted in Ryou's chest.

"_I'm_ the one who upset me," he cried. "I'm so insensitive at times I feel that it's a wonder you're still with me at all…" Ryou stared at the crown of Marik's head, wondering why Marik thought so little of himself at this point. He'd always put forth a persona of self-confidence and headstrong tendencies, so what was different now? The only cause he could come up with was Mai.

"Don't say that. You can't get rid of me even if you tried," Ryou said gently, but his expression was one of anger. How dare that bitch try to hurt his Marik this way? Feelings of fury and protectiveness rendered Ryou speechless, and it was exacerbated further when he realized that Marik was sobbing into his shirt, clutching at it as if Ryou would vanish at any time. Slowly, Ryou made a resolve. He would give Mai a stern talking to tomorrow.

* * *

><p>Marik had his head bowed slightly, and was holding Ryou's hand for guidance. Ryou stood erect, but unlike the first visit, he was angry instead of uncomfortable. He slowly lifted his hand out of Marik's and cracked his knuckles. <em>What right<em> did Mai have to interfere with his and Marik's life? It wasn't as if she was doing any good…

"Marik? Ryou?" Mai's voice called. Ryou briskly stood up and sped through the door, face beginning to turn red from anger. Marik followed slowly behind, glancing apologetically at Mai, who was still holding the door open for them. Mai sighed. She'd known this would happen, and it was time to talk to Ryou about his relationship with Marik. "I think it would be best if I talked to Ryou before asking about your status, Marik," she said. Marik nodded and offered a smile, then sat down in one of the waiting chairs outside of the room. Ryou glanced at him, his eyes furrowing with resolve, and turned to walk into the office, slamming the door behind him. Immediately, he whirled up to Mai's desk and planted his hands furiously on either side.

"What did you do to Marik?" he hissed. "He came to me _crying_ one day and told me that he wasn't worth me!" Mai knew that the passive approach, the one that she'd used on Marik, was not going to work in this situation. Instead, her eyes flared and she coolly glared at Ryou, folding her arms and frowning disapprovingly at him.

"You should be asking yourself what _you_ did to Marik," she snapped. Ryou bristled.

"What are you talking about, you bitch? You broke him!" he exclaimed. He threw his hands up in the air. "He's not strong or confident anymore! He's weak and vulnerable! If you don't boost up his self-confidence and make him stop believing that he's a terrible person, I'm going to sue!" Mai's eyes glinted angrily. She was fed up.

"_I_ broke him? Why was _he_ the one who called _me_ instead of talking to _you_?" she snapped. Ryou froze, not having an immediate answer, and Mai continued vehemently. "Why was _he_ the one who took the initiative to fix your relationship? Honestly, Ryou, what have _you_ done for him to show that you _cared_?" Ryou growled and clenched his fists.

"I've done plenty more than you have," he began. "_I'm_ the one who provides for us, _I'm_ the one who deals with his constant insults, _I'm_ the one who held him as he cried!"

"_He's_ the one who brought you chocolates and roses for Valentine's Day, though, right?" Mai retorted. "_He's_ the one who took you out to meet his friends! _He's_ the one who shares as much as he can with you. In fact, I'd say that _he's_ more of a husband than _you_ are!" She breathed heavily, glaring at Ryou, and Ryou in turn merely stared at her. Mai collected herself and stared at him with a calm expression on her face. "I've handled these kinds of cases several times. At first glance, it seems to be a person like Marik who initiates everything, always making a snappy remark and infuriating everyone beyond belief. Have you ever thought for just one moment that it takes _two_ to argue?" Ryou was pale and looking at his hands with a ghostly expression. "Ryou," Mai said sternly. His head snapped up angrily, but he waited for her to finish. "Marik loves you. He tries to show that in any way he can. I pulled all that information out of your guys' backgrounds, which were all in _his_ handwriting. He expressed his frustration at your insensitivity, but he also expressed his own frustration at not being able to keep his mouth shut." Ryou glanced at the door for a fleeting second, but Mai caught it. "Yes, Ryou, he cares. He cares _so much_. _That's_ why he gets mad. _That's_ why he feels like he has to be a part of every aspect of your life. Because you don't give him enough attention." Ryou nodded imperceptibly, his body tense.

"He was crying because he got into an argument with me," he muttered. "It was about how I hung out with my friends far more than I hung out with him, even though that wasn't true…" Mai sighed and looked at him.

"Does he _know_ your friends? Do you at least ask Marik if he wanted to be with your friends the next day? Relationships, contrary to popular belief, aren't always about what happens between two people. I bet Marik would be happy to know that your friends approve of him, and that you're not embarrassed to show him off. Oh, don't look at me like that. He doesn't have to be a trophy husband, he can just be a person you want to show to the world, a person you think is amazing beyond belief." Ryou was staring at the door now, as if he could see the person behind it. "This recent blowout, I noticed that you treated it as if he was a strong and confident person throughout." Ryou turned to her and nodded, bits of anger still flecking his eyes, but overshadowed considerably by guilt. "That, my dear, is what we psychologists call part of the honeymoon phase," Mai sighed. "No one is immortal. Marik can't always be that strong, saucy man that you were attracted to. But that doesn't mean that he lost those qualities, he just has others. He's human, Ryou, and crying is a human thing to do, whether it's pained or just cathartic."

"I need him," Ryou blurted. "I'm sorry, I have to go." Mai watched as he dashed out the door, then heard a brief yelp. Leaning slightly over her desk, she found Ryou vigorously kissing Marik as if his life depended on it. Marik struggled with breath, but responded just as enthusiastically. Mai smirked, and leaned back. It was only a matter of time before the two would be going at a steady pace again.

* * *

><p>The counseling appointments came fewer and fewer as Marik and Ryou fought less and less. Mai smiled as they entered for their final appointment, not holding hands or glancing at each other as if they were still in their honeymoon phase, but having a comfortable atmosphere all the same.<p>

"He was _not_ hitting on me, Marik," Ryou sighed.

"You know he was. That damned Bakura, always after you like a lovesick puppy!" Marik growled. Ryou rolled his eyes and turned to Mai.

"Could you tell him that he's the only one for me? I don't think he quite understands that," he said playfully. Marik blushed, but was undeterred.

"Okay, _now_ you're just accusing me. I wasn't saying that _you_ were the one who loved Bakura, just that he follows you around and it bugs me!" he exclaimed. Ryou sighed exasperatedly, and Mai sighed as well.

"We didn't come here to discuss your friend's idiocy, we came to discuss your final summary. Frankly, you two have improved _a lot_ since you first came, in my opinion." And they had. Marik hardly ever gave caustic jokes, and Ryou had finally introduced him to his friends. Joey, Tristan, Yugi, Téa, and Kaiba had all taken Marik in pretty well, and they even invited him along with Ryou to some outings. Marik would beam as he and Ryou would enter the bar or party together, with Ryou casually wrapping an arm around his waist. Marik made a lot more friends, and in turn, Ryou received a lot more satisfied kisses and compliments than he did insults.

"Yeah…it was a good idea to visit Mai, wasn't it, Ryou?" Marik said, turning to his husband and smiling smugly. "_Who_ deserves the credit?" Ryou relaxed in his seat and relented, stroking Marik's hand gently.

"You do. I can't argue with your logic there," he crooned. With a start, he realized that he was in love, and that the thought of leaving Marik, which had been a complete possibility before, now seemed incomprehensible. The sense of affection was overwhelming, and Ryou found himself stroking Marik's hand with renewed motivation. "Marik…" he whispered while Mai was looking away. "Could we return home? I'd like to invite you on a date." Marik raised an eyebrow.

"Aren't we too old for that?" he said.

"Tch, no," Ryou snorted, staring at Marik intently. Mai snorted from the bookshelf she was digging through.

"It's perfectly normal for couples to go on _dates_, Marik," she said flatly. "Might as well go. Ra knows how long you've been waiting for some quality time without me or your friends interfering." Both Marik and Ryou grinned, and turned to each other with eager faces, debating on the place. She sighed and smiled at them, holding out a red book. "I give all my clients parting gifts. This one's yours. It's a journal, and I want you to record all that you can. Maybe someday, I'll be showing it to some other couple down the road." Here, she winked at Marik, who accepted the journal reluctantly. Ryou sighed exasperatedly and began to kiss Marik's hand.

"Now can we go?" he whined. Marik smiled.

"Yeah…we can. There's nowhere else I'd rather be."

* * *

><p>Ugh...the ending lines to every one of my chapters are so corny! Well, such is the price of loving happy endings, I suppose. I hope I didn't make things too ordinary; I made it so Ryou had problems as well instead of making him seem like an innocent, spineless character that never did anything wrong and only suffered abuse. I only hope that Marik didn't seem too much like that...-_-;;<p>

Thanks to Lazy Gaga for reviewing! I'm glad that you like my fic so far XD!


	4. Dates

(A/N): Okay, so just to be clear, this is not to be taken as dating advice! D: Seriously, please don't use this fic for pointers of any sort! I had a dream last night that someone did just that, and it was horrific!

With that aside, I'm not sure I like this chapter. It's far too fluffy, even for a happy-ending lover like me! I hope you guys enjoy it, though. Especially you, Lazy Gaga! :D

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><p>Dates<p>

Their first date, in all honesty, was a disaster. With nervous hands, Ryou had had trouble tying on his tie, and ended up coming to Marik's house half an hour later than he'd said he'd come. Incredibly humiliated, he didn't notice how disheveled Marik looked on his own appearance, and also neglected to give him a compliment for his getup. Marik quietly uttered a compliment to him, but he was so quiet that the praise didn't even reach Ryou's ears, and instead, an awkward silence permeated as Ryou drove them to the restaurant.

Marik soon figured out that the first date should've been at the movies. At the restaurant, they were the only gay couple and everyone was staring at them curiously. Though Ryou didn't notice, Marik did, and his face was as red as a tomato. When Ryou began talking to him as a couple would on a date, Marik immediately laughed it off and treated him as he would any of his other friends. Ryou, hurt, joked alongside him and didn't mention anything about the fact that they were on a date again.

While they ate, Ryou stole glances at Marik and winked at him whenever their eyes met, smiling encouragingly. Marik pretended not to notice, still somewhat slighted by their earlier conversation. Despite Ryou's advances, he retreated inward, akin to a turtle retreating into its shell. All of his hope dissolved, Ryou focused on finishing his meal and allowed Marik to do the same.

When the bill came, it was more than Ryou had expected. Red-faced, he pulled out what he had and apologized to the waiter, bending his head so he wouldn't see Marik's face. Marik pulled out his own wallet and made up for the bill, muttering quietly that he had expected to pay for the meal since Ryou had driven them to the restaurant. Ryou couldn't hear much of Marik's soft voice, and all he did hear was that Marik had "expected" something. That was enough to send him into a spiraling depression.

The drive back home was quiet, and each of the men inside the car never wanted to go on a date again when suddenly, Ryou gathered up what little remained of his tattered pride and placed his hand on Marik's. At least, that's what he thought he had done when Marik gasped and Ryou realized that he'd moved his hand over a certain "forbidden" area, while Marik's hand had been nearer to his knees. Blushing profusely, he apologized again and again, spluttering that he'd really been trying to hold Marik's hand and pay attention to the road at the same time.

The date really started to turn around when Marik began laughing. At first, Ryou had been mortified and vowed to himself that he would never take anyone out again, but then, Marik grasped his hand and held it over his knees, smiling, and told him that he forgave Ryou for groping him, so long as Ryou waited until Marik was ready to do so again. Ryou grinned alongside him and joked that he wouldn't be able to help himself, and the rest of the car ride had gone well. When they reached Marik's house, however, neither knew what to do. Ryou didn't know if it was imprudent to share a first kiss on the first date, while Marik didn't know whether he should start the kiss or whether Ryou should. In the end, Marik gave him a hug, and Ryou hugged him back. Before Ryou could make the first move, Marik squeaked a "goodbye" and dashed into his house. When his sister asked him how his first date went, he ducked his head and sighed.

"Awkward," Ryou explained to his father over the phone. "I kept messing up. Did you know that I didn't bring enough money for the food? Marik had to pay for some of it! It was completely embarrassing, and on top of it, when I tried to hold his hand, I completely missed and…er…"

"Grabbed his unmentionables?"

"FATHER!"

"ISHIZU!" Marik yelled, flushed with embarrassment. "He didn't mean to do it, I swear!" Ishizu laughed and folded her arms.

"Sure, little brother. Don't you know that you're supposed to keep your hands on your lap, not your knees? And speak up a bit. Your voice was so soft that he probably couldn't hear you at all!" she laughed. Marik pouted.

"Yeah, he couldn't. I even messed up on the most important part of the date," he sighed, flopping limply onto the couch. "I hugged him, but dashed in here before we could do anything else."

"Way to go, little bro. You know what I think? You two should go watch a movie next time," Ishizu replied. "And don't forget to ask him in _two days_. Don't wait until three, and set the date a week later. Oh, and you'll obviously be paying for this one, so by _Ra_ bring enough money."

* * *

><p>By their fifth date, Ryou and Marik were veterans at movie dates. They would estimate what the movie was about in the car while interlocking their hands and hold small bets over what predictable plotline the movie would have. Marik, being incredibly sheltered, would usually lose these bets and end up having to kiss Ryou on the cheek or having Ryou kiss him on his hand. In the few instances that Marik <em>did<em> win, Ryou had to massage his shoulders after the movie for three minutes, which added up to about nine minutes after every movie on average. Ryou loved this as much as Marik did because Marik would sigh and lean into his hands. It was also comfortable to wear normal clothes around each other, unlike the formal slacks and dress shirts they had to wear at the restaurant.

The first time around, Ryou had hesitated to put his arm around Marik during the movie. Marik had become indecisive, wondering if he should do something besides offer Ryou more of the drink (one drink with two straws), when suddenly, Ryou leaned into his ear and asked him for permission to put his arm around Marik's shoulders. Marik had grinned and agreed, and the rest of the movie consisted of cuddling and Marik's soft hair brushing Ryou's neck as they watched the movie, engrossed.

When they first watched a horror film, Marik learned that Ryou was addicted. It was as if he was a whole new being, the way his eyes lit up and a wicked sneer crossed his face. At first, Marik had been appalled, but soon he realized that he could use Ryou's taste to his advantage. Marik wasn't terrified of horror movies, but when he huddled into Ryou's shoulder, he felt Ryou unconsciously hold him closer. During horror movies, Ryou became more daring, and he rubbed his hand up and down Marik's arm with the right level of comfort, as well as the right level of attraction. Despite his initial frozen reaction, Marik would become comfortable again and would respond to Ryou's daring nature with one of his own, brushing his lips across Ryou's neck. This became a regular practice, and the highlight of the week then became Marik's lips on Ryou's skin.

On the ride back home, they would review the movie and critique it. Marik would make good on his losses, shyly kissing Ryou on the cheek as he drove or shyly offering his hand. Ryou always kissed his little finger for some reason, and it always served to make Marik melt the way he gently did so. Ryou seemed to have two sides to him at every point. One minute, he grinned at horror movies with bloodlust in his eyes, the next, he kissed Marik's hand with utmost sweetness. Marik, in turn, was highly adaptable, even expectant, regarding Ryou's mood swings. Ryou was a puzzle he liked to solve, and as the movie dates went on, he figured out when Ryou would switch moods, and more and more about what made Ryou tick.

* * *

><p>Marik had been the one to decide that it was time for another restaurant date. This was the sixteenth date, and already, he and Ryou had been dating for three months. Ryou drove over to Marik's house, where the nervous Marik made sure to compliment him audibly and where Ryou himself made sure to compliment Marik accordingly. Ishizu noted, as the two walked to Ryou's car, that Marik had taken Ryou's hand. She smiled to herself, and gave her baby brother credit for the romantic action.<p>

During the car ride, Ryou and Marik had a comfortable silence. Their hands were interlocked in between their seats, as was customary at this point. Marik suddenly turned to Ryou and grinned.

"Let's not make this like our first date," he declared. "Let's have fun…or as much fun as we're going to have at a restaurant." Ryou glanced at him with confusion.

"Enlighten me as to how we're supposed to do that?" he asked. Marik smiled.

"Restaurants are supposed to be romantic, right? Well, we'll be romantic on this date. The mushier the better! The one who wins gets…gets to initiate a kiss…on the mouth," he said shyly. Ryou's eyes widened. Of course, by their second date, the two had shared their first kiss, but it had been awkward, and Marik had fumbled halfway through and had ended up tripping in his nervousness and kissing Ryou's ear at the end. Later, on their tenth date, when they'd wanted to try it again, Ryou had moved too fast and had entered Marik's mouth with his tongue. Marik, shocked at the foreign feeling, had blushed heavily but had allowed Ryou to do what he'd been doing. Ryou had pulled out immediately, and the two had looked at each other awkwardly before Ryou offered Marik his hand and they returned to his car.

"Could the winner French-kiss?" Ryou asked suggestively. Marik narrowed his eyes, but quirked one eyebrow expectantly.

"Sure, if _you're_ the winner. It's completely possible that _I_ could win, you know!" he scoffed. Ryou laughed.

"Of course," he said sweetly, and he rubbed his thumb over Marik's wrist. Marik smiled and leaned back on the seat. Ryou had changed moods yet again, but this time, he'd expected it. In fact, the sweetness was what Marik had needed at the moment as the two were pulling up at the restaurant and the butterflies in his stomach were doing gymnastics.

"Not to sound incredibly insensitive and crass but…I brought money in case we run out," Marik blurted. Ryou looked at him with a bit of hurt in his eyes, but said nothing. Marik suddenly felt like crap, but they walked out of the car and entered the restaurant.

"Reservation for 'Bakura'?" Ryou asked. Marik watched as the waiter took in their appearance (their genders, in particular) and, with some suspicion, led them to a table near a window with a beautiful view. Marik gasped at the Domino cityscape, and he turned to Ryou with intense excitement.

"You got the best seat in the entire restaurant!" he said excitedly. Ryou smiled.

"Shall we start the game then, my dear?" he asked suavely. Marik chuckled and nodded.

"Sure, love, if that's what you want," he responded just as gentlemanly. They continued such pleasantries when the waiter came up to them and asked them for their orders. It was then that Marik realized how many glances the couple was receiving from the other restaurant guests. He retreated inward again, but Ryou noticed this and brushed his foot against Marik's. As if by magic, Marik smiled and slowly straightened. He looked at the waiter and stated his order, then allowed himself to become engrossed in his own world, shared with Ryou. Ryou, in turn, grasped Marik's hand and they began holding a conversation, dropping pleasantries in order to keep ahead of each other in the game.

When their food arrived, Ryou caught Marik's gaze and winked. Marik smirked and licked his lips daringly. Ryou blushed and laughed softly.

"How about a time-out while we eat, dear?" he said, calling Marik "dear" without conscious thought. Marik agreed, noting inwardly that being called "dear" outside of the contest sounded nice, and he would love to hear more of that in the future. They ate their food quietly, glancing at each other frequently. Ryou kept admiring Marik's hair, which had been stylishly combed to bring out its color and looked just messy enough to be considered cute. Marik, on the other hand, couldn't get over how attractive Ryou looked in a dark blue tuxedo. It emphasized the light tint of blue in his otherwise white hair. Marik had first realized this when some of the strands of Ryou's hair fell in front of him when, at one point, Ryou had massaged his back. Ryou affirmed it by stating that his mother and his little sister had had blue hair, whereas his father had purple and, due to the stress he underwent as a child, Ryou had an extremely light blue color. Marik nodded, understanding that Ryou's family had split apart when Ryou was four, as his mother and sister had died and his father became increasingly distant as a result. Now, as Marik looked, Ryou's hair seemed to get bluer as time went on. He felt sad that Ryou's father was still distant, but hoped that Ryou understood that he and Ryou's other friends were always there for him.

"Marik, are you finished?" Ryou asked. Marik realized that he'd been staring at Ryou's hair, and that Ryou had finished before him. Embarrassed, he shook his head and continued to eat, but then stopped mid-bite.

"Um, did you want to leave?" he asked. Ryou smiled gently at him and shook his head.

"Why would I want to leave when I'm spending time with someone who means so much to me?" he replied offhandedly. Marik flushed and smiled with affection. "Oh, and by the way, this doesn't count towards our game, but while you're eating, I'm going to tell you what's on my mind." Marik nodded, looking at him curiously. What did Ryou want to say? He took a bite of his food, realizing that he only had a few bites left, and slowly chewed. Ryou began talking as soon as the food was in Marik's mouth. "I just wanted to say how handsome you look. I can't keep my eyes off of your hair for a minute, and your eyes are so mesmerizing that I feel like I could stare at them for hours and never get bored." Marik blushed, and, after swallowing his food, gaped at Ryou. He continued to compliment him, moving on to his personality. "You're outgoing, yet introverted. You're kind, yet blunt. You're anything, yet everything. I'm happy that you accepted my first date offer, Marik, and all the ones afterwards," Ryou concluded. Marik had finished his food, and tears were in his eyes. He slowly stood up and grasped Ryou's hand.

"I don't care if that was while I was eating or not," he said. "You win. You win the game by a landslide." Ryou smiled, and was about to speak when their waiter came back and gave them the bill. Ryou paled when he looked at it, and Marik looked over his shoulder.

"What's wrong, Ryou?" Marik asked. Ryou lowered his head, ashamed, and pulled out two twenty-dollar bills. Marik looked at the cost, which was $45.63. "Oh, it's just a couple dollars off. Stupid tax, eh?" he laughed, nudging Ryou. His face fell when Ryou turned to him darkly.

"Look, you were right, okay?" he snarled. "Good thing you brought money after all, _eh_?" he mimicked, making Marik feel worse. Suddenly, Marik straightened and folded his arms, dropping a five-dollar bill and a one-dollar bill next to Ryou's twenties.

"I didn't mean to offend you, I swear," he replied. "I just didn't want you to worry-"

"Sure, that's it. Don't let Ryou worry, don't trust Ryou with the costs," Ryou bit back. He stormed out of the restaurant, and Marik looked around embarrassedly before running out after him.

"What's with you?" he snapped. "Everyone was staring at us!" Ryou rolled his eyes.

"That's all you care about, isn't it? The way everyone else acts around our relationship. It's apparently _their_ business too, right?" he snapped. Marik looked hurt, but knew that Ryou was right. To him, everyone else had a huge part in their relationship. He ducked down, ashamed, and got into the car without a word.

The drive home was silent, and Ryou's rage was still apparent. Marik got out of the car alone, and when he entered his house, Ryou left without a parting goodbye. Ishizu asked about his date, but Marik ran upstairs and locked himself in his room so his sister wouldn't see him cry.

* * *

><p>The fight lasted for a week and three days when Marik finally encountered Ryou in the bathrooms. As he exited a stall, he saw Ryou leave immediately after washing his hands. Tears pricked Marik's eyes, and he stayed and sniffled for a bit before washing his hands and exiting as well. Walking outside, he saw Ryou waiting for Yugi at the lunch line, and debated whether or not to go to him. Before he could make a conscious decision, his feet were already running. He reached Ryou and hugged the living daylights out of him, repeatedly muttering apologies. Ryou looked up at him in surprise, but Marik didn't budge.<p>

"Don't hate me…please," he whispered. "I'm sorry about my insensitivity. Other people don't matter. I just…I…" And Marik couldn't hold out anymore. Most of Ryou's friends had fallen silent, and he looked at Ryou in shame. "I'm _sorry_…" he said again, before backing away and running out the cafeteria doors. Ryou immediately followed, but found that Marik had left the school building in his embarrassment. Ryou brushed a hand through his hair in stress when Ishizu, who acted as a teacher for one of the history classes at the school, took a hold of his shoulder.

"Hey," she said, and Ryou looked at her with desperation in his eyes. "Look, I don't know where Marik's gone, and I'm sure you're not going to find him at this point. Just sit down and talk to me for a second."

"I can't. I need to look for Marik," he said sullenly, looking out in the direction of Marik's house. Ishizu sighed, and yanked him down beside her.

"Listen, and listen well, Ryou. Marik likes you. A lot," she said. "The thing is, he can't help but give into society. I think he realizes that he's too dependent, but why not help?" Ryou looked at her, confused. "I mean, why not take him to a less fancy restaurant and work your way up? That's what you two should do. On top of it, you shouldn't get too personal regarding Marik's comment on the bill. He really didn't mean any offense to it."

"He was right, though," Ryou sighed. "I didn't bring enough money. I _always_ don't bring enough money." He sighed again, exasperated, when the grip on his shoulder tightened comfortingly.

"What's wrong with splitting the bill? I know it doesn't seem gentlemanly, but it's awfully romantic when you trust your boyfriend enough to split the bill with him. Marik wants you to trust him just as much as you want him to trust you. I already talked to him about it, but you know Marik." She laughed. "He was as thick-headed and as stubborn as ever." Ryou gazed forlornly at the ground, folding his arms around himself.

"I'm going to make it up to him," he said softly. Ishizu smiled, then walked inside the school building as the school bell rang. With one last sad glance, Ryou entered as well.

* * *

><p>When he passed Marik's house, he found that he couldn't see Marik's motorcycle in front of the building where it usually stood. He furrowed his brows in confusion, and rang the doorbell a couple of times, but no one answered and Ishizu was not home yet. Giving up reluctantly, Ryou made his way to his own house, where he found Marik sitting in the grass staring at the sky. To Ryou, he looked absolutely gorgeous with the sun striking his golden skin. When he saw Ryou, he immediately jumped up and stood next to his bike.<p>

"Hey, I'm only here to say one thing before I go," he muttered quietly, introverted once more. Ryou stared at him and walked over by the motorcycle, but Marik was already getting on. Marik continued, "I just wanted to apologize for causing a scene. And…" here, his lips twisted in a nervous way, "…I came to say that it's all right. Um, we're breaking up." Instantly, Ryou's face looked stricken.

"No, we're not," he said.

"Ryou, don't make this any harder than it has to be," he whispered, forcing Ryou to strain his ears. Ryou walked over to Marik and planted his hands on his shoulders, making Marik look up. Marik did so and Ryou kissed him, full on the mouth. After he finished, he stared at Marik with determination.

"I claim my prize for the date contest with that kiss. We're not giving up just because of one fight. We're going to talk it out. First of all, I'm sorry for getting mad over the bill. That was not your fault," he said in a low tone, staring deep into Marik's eyes. "Second of all, I forgive you for the whole 'embarrassed-by-others' display, and I never want to see you sad again. Ever." Ryou kissed him again, enjoying the familiar blush that Marik sported. "Third, if you break up with me, I swear to Ra that I'll come to your house and serenade you all night until you decide to be with me again. And I'll ask you on a date over and over until you say yes, and then I'll make it the best damn date you will ever have. And you can pay for anything you want; I'll just pay for the majority of it." The last comment brought out a smile from Marik.

"I'm sorry, and I forgive you, Ryou. Uh, I don't want to break up with you…I just thought that…maybe we'd be better off seeing other people," he said softly. Ryou stared at him with a glint in his eye.

"Why? Is there someone else that caught your attention?" he asked lightly. Marik flushed as he noted the mood swing.

"Of course not! I wouldn't want anyone other than you!" he blurted. "I'd just be willing to settle for second best if it's the only way to make you happy!" Ryou laughed out loud.

"_You_ are what makes me happy. _You're_ the one who brightens up my day," he said, encircling Marik in his arms. "I'm inviting you on a date, and I'm not taking no for an answer." Marik looked up defiantly.

"No," he said, and Ryou narrowed his eyes. But Marik continued. "This time, _I'm_ taking _you_ on a date to the restaurant, and _I'll_ be expected to pay this time, with _you_ picking up the change. And _I'm_ not taking no for an answer!" he said. Then Marik got off his motorcycle and kissed Ryou's baffled face. To Ryou's surprise, he opened his mouth and invited Ryou's tongue in, and they made out furiously in front of Ryou's house (with Ryou's neighbor Mr. Mutou watching, appalled). When they separated, Marik was smiling furiously, and Ryou grinned, exhilarated.

"Can't wait for that date," Ryou said, winking suggestively.

* * *

><p>(AN): And there you have it! Now I'll be brainstorming ideas for the next chapter...please be sure to review and point out any mistakes that I might have made! Also, if there are any ideas for the the alphabet from T onwards, I'll list them. Just be sure you aren't too late! ;)


	5. Ending

**(A/N):** Because the last one was so fluffy, I decided to change the pace and give a sort of angsty one. Meh, I don't like angst, but I think this one went over well...tell me what you think!

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><p>Ending<p>

The point of the entire mission had been to keep the bomb from exploding. What _Marik_ seemed hell-bent on doing, however, was just the opposite.

"Marik!" his boyfriend, Ryou, cried. "The bomb is _this_ way! We can't stay in this spot and wait for our enemies anymore!"

"Just one more jumping jack!" his daredevil said with a maniacal grin. "There's more than enough time to get to the bomb!" Ryou nervously danced about, thinking of the seconds that were ticking away much too fast for his liking. Their mission had been given from Yami himself in order to prove that they were ready for more challenging quests. Apparently, Marik _wasn't_ ready for anything because he failed to follow orders. Ryou, on the other hand, knew the objective but didn't want to leave Marik behind. It wasn't because Marik was his boyfriend, oh no. It was because if Marik were left unattended, the mission would fail inevitably and harm all involved. Ryou had seen it before, and it was all he could do to _not_ grab Marik's collar and forcefully drag the taller boy to the bomb.

"Okay, that was 'one more'!" Ryou shouted. "Now _please_ come on!" Marik shrugged and they both jogged alongside each other, Marik cracking small, and stupid, jokes three seconds into their run.

"C'mon Ryou! Answer! What did Joey say when Yugi threw a potato at him?" he asked, his high-pitched voice grating on Ryou's nerves. Marik had always been a faster jogger than Ryou himself, but it was infuriating when he had enough breath to _talk_ while running and expected Ryou to respond. Marik got his latest joke out of the way ("He said 'Yugi! I didn't say you could Yam-me!' Haha, get it? Huh? You don't? 'Cause, 'cause 'yam' is sorta like a potato, and Yami…never mind") and fell into a comfortable silence, somewhat noticing the lack of attention Ryou was giving him. Within a few seconds, he was ahead of Ryou and skipping, _skipping_, infuriatingly while Ryou struggled to keep up.

"You _ass_!" Ryou wheezed. "Wait up! You're going the wrong way!" Marik swerved back and turned around, grinning at Ryou's flushed face.

"Sor-_ry_ your royal slowness," he teased childishly. "It's not _my_ fault that you get a bit heavy on the cream puffs!" Ryou flushed and shoved him angrily when he reached him. Marik laughed, and Ryou couldn't help but feel hurt. He ran off in the right direction, a blush of embarrassment staining his cheeks and his eyes burning with potential tears. Marik didn't know, Marik _never_ knew, how truly hurtful his words were to Ryou. The jokes about his weight got to Ryou the most. Ryou was trying to lose weight, despite the crew's constant quips about how he was skinny, but Marik seemed insensitive to it all…

It was after a few moments that he realized that Marik wasn't following him, as he'd supposed. He whirled and found that Marik was staring at a point on a tile on the floor with utmost concentration…and they only had _three minutes left_!

"Marik, get moving! For someone who was keen on insulting my weight, you sure aren't helping your case!" Ryou hollered. Marik looked up innocently.

"Ryou, have you ever noticed how weird it is that people have floor tiles? I mean, where's the genius in that? Why not a smooth pavement, or elaborate designs? Why just tiles?" he asked childishly. Ryou all but screamed in exasperation and yanked Marik up with one arm, running towards the room with the bomb they had to deactivate. At this rate, there wasn't even time to turn back. If they didn't deactivate the bomb, it was certain death. Ryou furrowed his brows. There was no time for Marik's antics right now, but he was going to pay the consequences when they got back. Oh, and he would pay _dearly_.

With one last turn, the pair made it. Ryou, being the tech specialist, quickly tapped on the keys that would ultimately deactivate the bomb as if his life depended on it. Which it did. Because Marik was a douche. Hatred coursed through Ryou's veins once he shut off the bomb with only seconds to spare. Relief was the usual outcome of such endeavors, but the sight of Marik still looking at the tiles in that stupidly infuriating way of his caused Ryou's blood to boil. What gave Marik the right to act all calm and collected when, _clearly_, their lives had been in danger? What gave Marik the right to not care about his own life so much that he would much rather fight off guards than focus on the mission at hand? Why did _he_, Ryou, have to be the one doing all the work while Marik just stared at _stupid tiles the entire time_?

There was simply no reason that could surface, and Ryou was tired of it all. No matter how many pounds he'd dropped or how many missions he'd saved Marik from, Marik still wouldn't value him as the boyfriend he should be valued as. He contacted Kaiba gravely on the mission results and stalked out of the room. Marik looked up questioningly when Ryou hadn't bothered to inform him that he was leaving as he usually did, and followed him curiously.

"Hey, Ryou, something wrong?" he asked. Ryou bristled at his voice.

"Nothing, I just want some more _cream puffs_," he spat. Marik, completely missing how truly mad Ryou was at him, guffawed.

"Ha! I told you, Ryou! You're going to run even slower if you keep up this fixation!" he taunted. Ryou whirled around at him and glared, effectively making Marik laugh louder. Suddenly, a resounding slap was heard, and Marik's laughs ended with a yelp. He held his cheek to see a positively _fuming_ Ryou in front of him, glaring madly.

"Shut up, shut up, _shut up_!" Ryou screamed. "I wish that you would, for once in your LIFE, consider others' feelings! You never take _any_ mission seriously, you never compliment me, and you _never_ notice the efforts I take to make you happy!" Marik watched, wide-eyed, as Ryou ranted. "I'm sick and tired of your foolishness, aggression, and just…just _you_!" The sound of the approaching helicopter wasn't able to quench Ryou's fury, and his scream rebounded over the noise. "I want you to stay as far away from me as possible, Marik Ishtar! It's over…it's been over since our first mission together!" Ryou huffed, suddenly feeling very tired. Marik gaped at him, open-mouthed, still holding his cheek. "Get on the damn helicopter," Ryou muttered. Ryou got on the helicopter, and Marik silently followed. Joey, who'd piloted the vehicle, whistled lowly.

"So, I'm takin' it you two are single now?" he said awkwardly. Ryou stared at him with venom while Marik looked down at the helicopter floor, still holding his cheek insufferably. Ryou hated him more and more as the time passed, but kept silent. The moment they landed in KaibaCorp's private base, Ryou briskly walked to the mission briefing station and Marik walked in the opposite direction quietly. Joey looked at the two nervously. "Somethin' bad's gonna happen…I know it," he grumbled.

* * *

><p>Marik didn't know what to do. He hadn't <em>meant<em> to make Ryou as mad as he had; in fact, he hadn't even known that Ryou was mad "since their first mission together". Packing up the last of his stuff from their shared apartment, Marik sighed. He knew that without Ryou, he would never be able to take on a mission. Before Ryou, all he'd done were level one missions, which were basically bait missions in which he had to act as a decoy while the real professionals handled the case. Now, however, he couldn't pull that off because the posts were already full, and Kaiba was going to send him his last paycheck any time now. Of course, that was the least of his problems. Marik was a "live in the moment" kind of guy, and right now what he was truly concerned over was how angry Ryou would be if he figured out that he hadn't left yet.

"I'll just find a second job somewhere else," he huffed as he heaved a box full of his clothes on top of the many other boxes. Looking at the room, he grinned as he found it perfectly mess-free. Ryou would be happy, and even though they were broken up, that was enough to make Marik happy as well. "Now to move this stuff to…wherever I'm going," he chirped, picking up his boxes and putting them on a cart. He didn't have many things besides clothes, but it was enough. He focused on the task at hand, smiling despite the wound in his chest. In all honesty, the guilt was beginning to eat at him. Ryou hadn't deserved his comments, particularly about the weight. Marik knew that he was at fault here because he always seemed to want to live in the moment, disregarding even the events that would occur three minutes from the time. He looked up defiantly. "Okay! I know what to do! I'll quit, and this'll be punishment for me for treating Ryou so badly!" he said, smiling to himself. Yugi, who happened to be passing by, perked his ears.

"Wait, Marik!" he called. Marik turned to him, still grinning from his resolution.

"Hey Yugi! What's up?" he said. Yugi looked at him strangely.

"Did you just say that you've treated Ryou badly recently?" he asked. Marik nodded, turning his eyes downcast.

"Yeah…we're broken up now," he said, somewhat mournfully. Yugi folded his arms.

"So _that's_ why he's so down. I don't know if you know this, but all of Ryou's friends, myself included, think you're somewhat of a jerk," he said condescendingly, feeling anger for his friend. Marik raised his eyebrows, somewhat offended. "We thought you treated Ryou badly from the moment you two went on your first mission, and we couldn't fathom why he even accepted to go out with you. I don't know why you kept treating Ryou badly, but I hope you realize your mistake, and when you fall in love again, you won't repeat it." Marik flared.

"Why don't you shut up, midget? I know what I did was wrong, but I don't need _you_ to tell me," he hissed. Yugi glared at him.

"You know what, you're right. Why bother telling you this…you'll just brush it off anyway. Ryou already told me that you don't take any advice from others. You didn't even listen to _his_ advice in any of the previous missions, right? He was miffed about that every time he came over to my house for comfort." Marik flinched visibly, but snapped back.

"I don't know why you keep interfering, unless, of course, you have a crush on Ryou," he said in a low, threatening voice. Yugi rolled his eyes.

"What, now he's your _possession_?" he said tiredly. "I don't have a crush on him, but since he's not yours anymore, you shouldn't act as if he's private property. In fact, he shouldn't even be considered property at all." Marik stayed silent, and Yugi continued. "You kept telling him to lose weight, and even when he did so, you didn't notice. He's not some doll that would follow your orders forever. You just don't know how to see people as equals! Even your _sister_ never quite listened to anyone, eh? Like brother like sis-" At this, Marik punched the smaller boy. Yugi's scream of pain caused Tristan, Téa, and Joey to immediately come out of their cabins. After a brief inspection of the scene, they glared at Marik.

"What the hell, man?" Tristan yelled, coming face to face with Marik. Joey pulled up beside him.

"What, so just 'cause Ryou broke up with you, you think you can punch Yugi around? You're _sick_!" he spat. Marik panicked slightly, not knowing what to do in these sorts of situations. Téa walked up to him and slapped him as hard as she could, tears overflowing from her eyes. She didn't say anything, merely shook her head and turned to attend the recovering Yugi, who was glancing at him with fear. Marik mirrored the look, and looked at his hands. This was the type of person everyone else saw, he realized, the type of person Ryou didn't want to see until he was forced to. This was, Marik realized with a sinking heart, his true self.

With a start, he ran off, leaving all his stuff behind. A deep fear entered his heart, fear of what he himself was capable of doing. He didn't dare go back, for fear of what he would do next.

* * *

><p>A month had passed. When Ryou had heard that Marik had punched Yugi, as well as the vile things he'd said, he'd grown angrier and, in a final fit of fury, had thrown all of Marik's stuff into the trash. He slightly appreciated the fact that Marik had somewhat cleaned up after him, but had vacuumed the room and scrubbed it down with disinfectant until nothing smelled of him anymore. For years, Ryou felt that he'd been tolerating Marik's abuse, and he'd thought that the cleansing of his complex would've been enough to keep him from Marik's essence. He figured that he'd avoid all level-one missions in an effort to avoid running into Marik, and therefore ease the effort of forgetting him.<p>

That was not what had happened, however. Ryou realized that he'd made a grave error in his calculations. He hadn't heard a word from Marik regarding their break-up. Ryou decided that if he wanted to move on, he'd need some form of closure, and that meant finding the bastard himself. When he'd told his friends of the plan, they'd hesitantly agreed, none of them wanting Ryou to pine over him. They promised that if they saw him, they would notify him of Ryou's idea.

Three more months passed, and no one had seen hide or hair of Marik. Ryou, deep within his heart, began to worry. It wasn't until another month passed with no results that he contacted Yami and Kaiba to see where Marik resided. And it wasn't until another month until they got back to him saying that Marik did not attend the KaibaCorp agency any longer.

"Then where the fuck is he?" Ryou snapped. "I just need to talk to him _once_, that's all!" Kaiba shrugged as Yami shifted uncomfortably.

"We usually keep track of lost agents, but Marik was an exception. Half the time, he didn't know what the hell was going on. We just thought we should let him be," Kaiba drawled. Ryou felt a surge of anger, but shrugged it off.

"Well do you at least have his _sister's_ number?" he ground out. "It'd be nice if I could talk to _someone_." Yami pulled out a large binder filled with pages upon pages of phone numbers in exceedingly small print. He carefully ran his finger down the "I" section, sticking his tongue out slightly.

"Ishizu Ishtar's number…is here," he said, scribbling the number down on a small sheet of paper. "She's in Egypt, so hopefully you can afford long-distance calls." Ryou rolled his eyes.

"I can't believe that I haven't even _seen_ Marik yet, and he's _still_ causing me to lose my money," he grumbled, grasping the paper and walking outside with a "thank-you" thrown over his shoulder at the two. His mood had worsened, and he sighed exasperatedly. The sooner he found Marik's whereabouts, the sooner he'd know what he'd been up to and the sooner he could get over him. He reached his apartment and dialed Ishizu's number. She picked up on the first ring, nearly frantic.

"Hello? Kaiba?" she said. Ryou, suddenly not knowing how to act around his ex's sister, paused for a second.

"Um hi, this is Ryou Bakura," he said awkwardly. There was an immediate click on the receiver, and Ryou became embarrassed. What was he doing? Marik was a douche, and he shouldn't have to call him like this! Moments after he thought this, the sadness began to settle in. It would be nice to at least hear a word about how Marik was doing. Without actually registering his actions, Ryou dialed on the phone again. Ishizu picked up immediately.

"What do you want?" she snapped. "Can't you tell that this number is reserved for _non_-heartbreakers?" Ryou coughed awkwardly and cleared his throat.

"Is Marik there? If he is, may I speak to him?" he said in his utmost polite tone.

"No," Ishizu answered curtly. Ryou felt a feeling of defiance overcome him, and he straightened.

"Just let me talk to him, Ishizu! It's not like I want to break his heart again! Honestly, how do _you_ propose that that would occur?" Ryou ranted. "Besides, isn't he over me by _now_? I just want to confirm that we're broken up." Ishizu growled on the other line.

"You're so insensitive!" she spat. "Do you know how much it hurts having your heart broken like that, and on top of it, having your family insulted in front of your face?" Ryou gave a pause in response, and Ishizu could tell he was confused. "Whatever. You and I obviously have different values." Ryou snapped out of his trance before she could completely dismiss his call.

"Okay, I have no idea what you're talking about. I only know that it hurt badly whenever he would insult my weight, and it was terrifying when he would disregard our missions and nearly get us killed _every single time_! Do you really think that _that's_ fair? I don't know anything about this 'insulting family' crap, but I assure you that I never insulted you or Odion, much less any other family you may have," Ryou replied. Ishizu scoffed at him.

"Right," she laughed. "_That's_ why he came home and said that he didn't want to talk you or your friends because they hated us. I know my brother, and I know his big mouth. But Marik Ishtar is _not_ a liar."

"Exactly, and that's why it hurt so bad when he called me _fat_!" Ryou snapped. "And I promise you, I _never_ insulted your family!" Ishizu growled, but began to relent.

"Well, maybe if you talk to him, he'll come out of his stupid daze and realize that you're the crap that you are," she snarled. Ryou rolled his eyes but took the hit. It was, after all, a sibling's job to look after another sibling.

"I'll just be waiting for him," he finally grumbled.

It only took a moment. From the background, Ryou heard Ishizu climb up the stair steps and grumble about how "stupid boys with their stupid crushes and their stupid breakups always want to stupidly come back together after making numerous stupid mistakes." As she approached Marik's room, Ryou began to wonder what he would say. Marik would no doubt be irritated with him after what he'd said to him the last time that they'd met. He decided to be frank, and say that he merely wanted to make their break-up official. But what if, Ryou suddenly thought, Marik found that stupid? What if he'd already thought they were broken up, and laughed at him? It took a few moments for Ryou to realize that he was actually worried about what Marik would think. He laughed at himself inwardly. It wasn't as if he and Marik were dating anymore, so he didn't have to worry about his thoughts! When he heard Ishizu knock on the door, he gulped. He couldn't explain exactly why he felt a rush of happiness hearing Marik's voice again, but decided to ignore it in favor of concentrating on the task at hand. He called to break up with Marik, and dammit, he would do it!

"Hey, brother? Your ex-boyfriend is on the phone," Ishizu said. Ryou heard a pause, and then a quiet acceptance. He gulped down his panic and prepared for anything.

"Yo, Ryou?" came the quiet voice of his ex. "Is that you?" Ryou felt his face heat up at the mere mention of his name, and felt for the world like a shy schoolgirl realizing that she actually had gotten the guts to call her crush, only to realize that she really didn't have anything to say. Eventually, after a lengthy pause, he cleared his throat and spoke.

"Hi, Marik. Yeah, it's me." When he didn't hear a response, he looked down at the phone and realized that Marik had hung up. "What the fuck?" he wondered crossly. Ryou dialed again.

"Um, hello?" he said into the receiver. "Marik?"

"Ryou? Oh, so you decided to answer after all! Goodness, that was the longest phone pause I'd ever had to endure! I'd been listening to silence for three straight minutes, so you can't blame me for hanging up!" Marik chirped. Ryou sighed fondly to himself, remembering how Marik was so straightforward that he didn't repeat the names of whom he was calling to make sure that they were still there, but instead waited for them to respond to him.

"So, is there anything that you wanted?" Marik asked curiously. Ryou sighed. His mind wanted to do what he'd intended on doing, but his heart was objecting. He realized that if he followed his head, he would most likely never speak to Marik again. Dismay came to him at this thought, and he sighed as he surrendered to his heart.

"I-I wanted to see how you were holding up," he replied. "And what all this stuff about insulting your family was about." There was a small exhalation of breath on the other line, and when Marik's cheerful voice returned, there was a hint of fury within it.

"Ugh, so your 'friends' never told you?" he chirped. "They were being mean, and I used some 'friendly' influence to persuade them to never insult my family again!" The way his tone fluctuated revealed to Ryou that Marik's encounter was probably anything but "friendly" or "persuasive". He frowned slightly, but knew that Marik wasn't finished yet. "Also, I was wondering how you got Ishizu's number. I thought I erased it off the database! Then again, knowing Kaiba's fixation on her, there were probably some back-up files involved."

"Marik," Ryou sighed, deciding to listen to his head. "All I want to know is…we're broken up, right?" Despite his original intent, Ryou dreaded the answer. Either a "yes" or a "no" would cause grief in his eyes, though he couldn't for the life of him know why. There was only silence on the other end, then…

"Of course, Ryou," Marik said quietly. "We broke up." Ryou bit his lip, tears in his eyes, and slowly hung up the phone. It was still hard; there was no doubt about it. He felt like he was being rejected all over again, and to his slight horror, found that breaking up with Marik, _truly_ breaking up with him, was worse than having Marik call him fat in any way.

* * *

><p>"Marik?" Yami answered incredulously, his eyes wide. Kaiba stopped what he was doing and looked at the phone with surprise.<p>

"Heh, yeah, could I speak to Ryou for a sec?" came the sheepish voice on the other line. Yami scowled.

"After what you did to Yugi? Hell no!" Yami yelled, slamming down the phone and storming out of the room. Kaiba rolled his eyes at Yami's antics, and took up the tapped signal before Marik could hang up.

"Hey Marik, you there?" he said curtly. There was a sigh on the other end.

"So that's the story? I beat up Yugi for no reason?" he said sadly. "Well, _you_ know that I'd never do that, right Kaiba?" Kaiba smiled at the phone, though Marik couldn't see. Marik had always been some sort of little brother to him, especially since Kaiba had such a humongous crush on his sister.

"You'd never do anything stupid without some sort of reason, no matter how foolhardy it is. So tell me," Kaiba said, leaning forward on his desk. "What did Yugi say to you?" With a slight pause, Marik began telling his tale. He told of his break-up with Ryou, and the events that had unfolded afterwards. Kaiba pressed a finger to his temple, marveling at what a fine mess Marik had caused. "Marik, did you stop and think that maybe Yugi was upset that you hurt his friend? It wasn't very nice, the things you were doing to Ryou. Yugi is awfully rash, and I'm sure that he didn't even know what he was saying."

"That doesn't excuse anything," Marik scowled. Kaiba sighed.

"It doesn't, but it also doesn't give you the right to punch everyone who insults your family. I think that you and Yugi should apologize to each other before you decide that you want to talk to Ryou. You know what you did was wrong; Ishizu tells me about your honor system," Kaiba said calmly, a bit amused. Marik pouted on the other line, but slowly began to relent. He could acknowledge a guilty conscience when he had one.

"Oh, okay," he sighed. "I don't really need to talk to Ryou, really. I just wanted to know why he called and suddenly hung up on me."

"Oh, I know why. It was merely to ensure that you two had broken up," Kaiba said, leaning back in his chair.

"That's good. I'm glad he did!" Marik giggled. "I'm in a relationship…do you know a guy named Duke Devlin?" Kaiba's eyes widened.

"Yes, Tristan's been talking about him like a lovesick teenager!" he said, his eyes sparking in interest. "Where did you manage to get such a catch?" Marik laughed.

"Well, we just started to talk, and we both realized that we had so much in common. It was weird, really, because I never thought that he'd like a guy like me. We danced around each other for weeks before he asked me out. I said no the first time, but yes the second! We…had our first fight three months back about…well, me calling him 'fat'. Y'know, kinda like Ryou. I really didn't mean it, and we got through it. I apologized to him everyday for three weeks because of it. I just…I never knew it could hurt someone that much. In Egypt, well, at least where I'd lived, being fat meant that you had enough money to eat, so it was a compliment. I knew that it was an insult here, but I didn't know to what extent," Marik said. Kaiba's brows crinkled, and he sighed, perplexed. He knew that Ryou harbored strong feelings for Marik, despite their falling-out, and understood the reason Ryou had been moping around on campus.

"Well, Marik," he continued. "Is there any reason you wanted to talk to Ryou?" Marik stayed quiet on the other line, and Kaiba waited patiently for a response.

"I just wanted to know how Ryou was doing," Marik finally said. "He didn't say 'bye' when he hung up, and I wanted to know if he was okay." Kaiba smiled a bittersweet smile at the situation, and decided to tell Marik the truth before Ryou's heart could tear open anymore.

"Marik, I don't think you should talk to Ryou anymore," he said, finally. Marik stayed quiet, waiting for an explanation. "Ryou…still cares for you, to put it lightly. I don't think that the news of your relationship with Duke will go over well with him." A sigh came from Marik.

"That's what I figured," he said quietly. "I guess…I can still talk to _you_, right? If I'm ever worried about him…" Kaiba smiled, though Marik couldn't see.

"Of course, so long as you tell me if your sister is single yet," he drawled. Marik laughed his vibrant laugh, and then the two exchanged goodbyes. Kaiba put the phone down, not noticing the crying, white-haired boy dash out of the office hallway.

* * *

><p>"I can't believe that I want him back!" Ryou growled at Yugi's house. His tears had all but evaporated, and now he could only feel rage at his once-boyfriend. "How does he make me cry even when he's not around?" He banged a fist on his lap, and Yugi sighed.<p>

"Ryou, look. I have to say, I was a little harsh about his sister, and he was really, er, eccentric, but maybe it's time for you two to move on?" Yugi sighed. "This is the time. You can't stay angry at Marik for something that you instigated." Ryou whirled on him, eyes flashing in anger.

"_I _didn't do anything!" he growled. "_You're_ the one who insulted his _family_!" Yugi reared back, but retained some sense and sighed.

"That's true…" he relented. "But you also were tired of his constant quips about your weight, and you didn't bother to sit down and _talk_ to him about it." Ryou stared at him for a full minute, the very picture of desperation. Yugi continued. "I know you love him, but honestly, you two have to move on," he said. "Ryou, this would be just as good for him as it would for you. He's probably already gotten a boyfriend by now." Ryou gasped, remembering the phone call between Marik and Kaiba. He gave a low groan and shook his head.

"It just…hurts too much," he moaned finally. Yugi nodded.

"I know, Ryou…I know. Just remember," he said, looking at the boy seriously. "You're thinking of _him_ as you do this. Keep trying. Eventually, time will find a way to make both of you happy again." Ryou stared at his friend, who had taken him in despite the tantrums and the madness he'd undergone over the past months.

"I'll try, Yugi. For him…and for me," he finally said.

* * *

><p>Ryou was once again running down a hallway, trying to deactivate a bomb in an entirely new base with an entirely new enemy. Age had taken mercy on the spy, as he could still duck and dodge agilely at forty-two. A smile flashed over his lips as he remembered a potato joke made down similar walls, an instant of golden skin, and a snapshot of relaxed, purple eyes. Contrary to Yugi's prior belief, Ryou had been sick and in pain for the longest time without Marik. It had been hard for him to move on, even in his twenties, but as his feet continued to tap the ground beneath him, he realized that Marik had been years ahead of his time. Ryou could hear the enemies coming up behind him, but he took his time because he finally realized that rushing himself would get him nowhere. He smiled into the ceiling, thinking of laughter between lovers even as he fell to the ground.<p>

Three weeks later, Yami held the first bouquet since he'd settled Joey into the ground a year ago. He stared at his friends' graves without truly seeing anything. First, Kaiba had gone and left his wife and three children under Yami's care. When Yugi had died only three months later of a freak explosion, Yami had grown numb. Unrequited love hadn't only applied to Ryou, after all.

Joey had died from overexposure to carbon monoxide, staying a faithful friend and transporting people nonstop one day even as his life drained out of him due to the influx of the gas in his plane. Yami had cried then, seeing all his friends pass before they even fully enjoyed adulthood. Ryou, now, made the count of the dead tip beyond Yami's point of sanity. With a final sigh, Yami threw the bouquet of orchids Ryou had kept in his room into the coffin. The carefully nurtured flowers were already withering with the loss of their regular treatment. They'd reminded Ryou of Marik's eyes, since he'd never forgotten him, and Yami only saw it fit to have them go with Ryou to the afterlife.

Of the living family Ryou had left behind, there was none. Most of the people at the funeral were spies, save four. A ghost hovered above her brother's grave, waiting for the chance that they'd be reunited. A doppelganger stood next to the headstone, waiting for a chance to assassinate some important figures that had appeared in the gathering. Finally, a man and his husband stared at the grave, one's green eyes pitying and the other's purple ones mournfully waiting for the chance they could be together once more.

* * *

><p><strong>(AN):** Hehe, at least I left it open-ended! Well, honestly, I wanted to try my hand at angst. Now...I'm going to figure out the outline for the next letter, since it takes place in the Revolutionary Girl Utena world, but it has all our loveable characters.


	6. Fantasy

**(A/N): **Hi all! This took me forever to write (FOREVER), but I managed to finish in time! :P

Now, this is a crossover of Revolutionary Girl Utena, but I made it so that readers who've never heard of the show could understand, so **DON'T WORRY! **Oh, and for those of you who actually know the show, this oneshot is on the yaoi basis and barely scratches the surface on the deeper meanings underlying the actual show. -_-;;

Also, there are some adult issues in here that don't merit an M-rating, but are nevertheless a **high-T. **Read at your own risk!

**EDIT: Forgot to put in page breaks...re-uploaded! Also, thanks AllenWalker4Ever for noting the massive paragraphs! I fixed the problem1**

Enjoy the story!

Fantasy

Once upon a time there was a little white-haired boy, and he was very sad, for his mother and father had died. Crawling into a coffin beside his parents, the boy forbade any of his visitors from comforting him. He only exited the place of grief and misery when a golden-haired prince appeared and showed him something eternal: something that gave the boy purpose and enabled him to believe in the power of miracles.

Before he departed, the prince bestowed upon the small boy a Millennium Ring. Perhaps the Ring was an engagement Ring, as the prince had stated that it would bring the boy to him when the time came. This was all well and good, but so intrigued was the boy by the prince that he decided to become a prince as well! In his journey through adulthood, he played many card games and surpassed others, gaining a fair reputation as the cutest Duel Monster champion in his middle school. Such accomplishments led him to Domino High, the beautiful rose-themed school that held the secret of the Millennium Ring, as well as his true purpose…

"Oi, Ryou!" a furious voice called. "You left me waiting for you at the entrance!" As the girl ran forward, Ryou turned, brushing his white hair out of his bangs.

"Oh, hey Téa," he said, laughing guiltily. "I guess I forgot!"

"You _forgot_?" she snapped. "_You're_ the one who insisted about _twelve times_ yesterday that I had to show up and wait for you! I could've been late to my first class!" Ryou shrugged awkwardly, and Téa sighed. "Whatever, just so long as you don't forget again. So you're all dressed up as a prince this year, too? Our teachers aren't going to like that!" Ryou smiled at her.

"Yeah, well, there aren't any rules against it! Honestly, the teachers here can be so…dense sometimes," he snorted. Téa laughed as they walked down the halls, the arching windows and whirling staircases confounding the two as they made their way through the school. Ryou wasn't the least bit intimidated at the new school, nor was he afraid of the classes. The only emotion coursing through his veins was anticipation, as he knew that this school housed his prince somewhere among the high towers and rose-embellished arches.

A sudden scream broke any stream of conversation the two friends were having. Ryou's gentlemanly instincts lurched, and he turned his head to the rose garden where the sound of distress originated. His face contorted into a scowl as he realized that the perpetrator was a strong man abusing his strength on a defenseless, blonde-haired boy. As he cowered on the floor, the man reprimanded him in a caustic manner, causing Ryou's blood to boil. Angrily running past a terrified Téa, Ryou came in between the two with his fists raised, preparing to fight with whatever he had.

"What do we have here?" the man sneered, his silvery hair obscuring the right side of his face. "Another admirer of yours, Marik?" Behind Ryou, the one called Marik looked up indignantly.

"No, _Master Pegasus_," he spat, as if the words were against his will. Ryou clenched his teeth at the title he gave her abuser, but stood his ground despite his anger.

"Pegasus, eh? What purpose do you have in hurting people weaker than you?" he snapped. Pegasus stared at him for a moment before laughing uncontrollably. "What?" Ryou snapped again. Pegasus folded his arms and shook his head, as if in disappointment.

"Trying to protect a damsel in distress? It would help if you knew that Marik is my _groom_ in the first place, dear _prince_," he sneered. Ryou's eyes widened in surprise as he finally turned and regarded the offended Marik. Pegasus' words rang true as Marik stood up and reluctantly showed the ring he was wearing, matching Pegasus' own. Once the shock wore off, however, Ryou returned to glowering at the man.

"I don't care whether Marik is your groom or not!" he snapped, sharply extending his arm in emphasis. "You don't go around bullying everyone weaker than you!" To his surprise, Pegasus looked astonished. Ryou smirked at him smugly, thinking that he'd won, when Pegasus suddenly pressed a hand to his chest. "Wha…hey!" Ryou spluttered indignantly, a blush streaking across his face. Marik's gaze suddenly held interest as he moved next to Ryou to see what had caught Pegasus' eye.

"Where'd you get this?" Pegasus said in a low voice, and Ryou realized that he was holding the Millennium Ring around his neck. Ryou snatched it back, positively growling, and Pegasus suddenly clenched his fists, more threatening than ever. "Who are you?" Pegasus asked. Ryou looked taken aback for a moment, but noticed Marik's increasingly curious stare as well.

"My name is Ryou Bakura, and I'm here to meet my prince," he announced, puffing his chest in pride. Pegasus continued eying his Ring, but his gaze suddenly snapped up and he pointed straight in Ryou's face.

"I challenge you to a Duel," he said, barely restraining his anger. Ryou looked at him in bewilderment.

"You mean…like Duel Monsters?" he asked. Pegasus laughed and shot Ryou a patronizing glare.

"I don't associate myself with some petty children's game! This is a genuine swordfight! If I win, I take your Ring and keep treating my Rose Groom as I see fit," Pegasus explained haughtily. "If _you_ win, as unlikely as it is, you can keep your Ring, my Eye, and Marik, and I'll suspend myself from this school." Pegasus flipped his hair back to reveal Ryou his golden Eye, and Ryou gasped at the resemblance between the Eye and the Ring. He growled as he realized that the Eye could lead him to his prince, somehow.

"Where do I meet you?" he snapped. Pegasus rolled his eye and indicated at a distant spot where there was a huge tree enclosed by a great wall.

"The Dueling arena, at six," Pegasus replied. "Be there. Come on, Marik." Marik slowly began to stand by Pegasus, and Ryou could see anger in his eyes. "Come _on_!" Pegasus bellowed, yanking Marik's hair.

"I'm coming, okay?" Marik shouted back. His face, however, showed pain, and Ryou wondered why such a defiant spirit heeded every word from the dastardly man. Téa suddenly appeared next to him.

"What happened? Are you hurt?" she asked, concerned. Ryou shook his head, but his eyes never left Pegasus' retreating form.

"I have a Duel to perform…a real sword Duel," he muttered. Téa's eyes widened in shock.

"But you're not even a fencer!" she squeaked. "How will you do it?" Ryou clenched his fists.

"I'll find some way. I have to save that Marik person somehow," he said with finality.

It was time for the Duel, but Ryou was utterly baffled. The Dueling arena had absolutely _no_ opening! He gave a frustrated growl before kicking at the wall before him, and frowned when he realized that that hadn't solved anything.

"If the Pegasus guy wanted me to fight him so much, why didn't he at least tell me how to open this gate?" he grumbled, thinking of poor Marik. The boy had been so bruised and beaten, but had still maintained a sparkle in his eye that begged Ryou to set him free. "I _will_ save him, just like my prince had saved me," Ryou vowed. Turning to the gate again, he looked at the wall carefully. There was nothing, not even a handle, but then, with a start, he realized that there was some sort of person engraved on the rock. It was faintly noticeable, but there were also clear indentations on the person's being. Ryou found that he could fit his Millennium Ring into one of the hollows, and with his brows furrowed, he sank the Item into the stone.

The Ring fit perfectly. Ryou watched as the walls suddenly moved aside, and water filled the hollows on either side of the stairs. In an elaborate display, the door to the Dueling arena appeared, rose-shaped, and elevated itself high above an opening. Ryou stared at the scene with apprehensiveness, but moved forward. He was, after all, determined to save Marik at whatever the cost. The stairs swirled upward, and despite its length, Ryou was filled with purpose. It was almost as if he were coming closer and closer to his goal, to finally meet his prince. But, he decided, the first thing he had to do was rescue Marik, or in this case, the Rose Groom.

He finally made it to the top to see Marik in a dashing red outfit. Blushing when he noticed that the suit made Marik look incredibly handsome, Ryou turned to Pegasus and unfurled his wooden practice sword. Pegasus laughed as Marik came to him and fastened something on his lapel.

"Foolish freshman! Do you think I came here to play games with wooden swords?" he sneered. "I'll pummel you with my true sword!" Ryou's eyes widened.

"You wouldn't actually use a _real_ sword?" he asked frantically. "You could kill me!" Pegasus shrugged, as if it were no big deal. Marik moved his way toward Ryou, and Ryou noticed that Pegasus wore the Duel Monster card "Blue Eyes Toon Dragon". Frowning, Ryou watched as Marik cupped his hands together and a white light seemed to gather at his fingertips. "What?" Ryou gasped, watching as the light materialized into a rectangular shape. "H-how are you doing that?" he asked. Marik smiled at him cheekily as Ryou's favorite card, the Change of Heart, formed in his hands.

"You've never seen magic before? Well, at any rate, you must destroy your opponent's card before they can destroy yours. I…I hope that you can, seeing as you have a wooden sword…" Marik answered, staring disappointedly at Ryou's meager weapon. "Well…good luck." Ryou nodded wordlessly at him, and took his stance. Marik then walked hesitantly over to Pegasus, where he was promptly slapped.

"What business do you have, 'hoping' that my opponent can win over me?" Pegasus growled. "Give me my sword!" Under Ryou's disapproving gaze, Marik stood up and placed his hands on his chest.

"Power through the Millennia, I call to thee!" he cried, and the same bright light shone from his chest. "Heed your master and come forth!" Before Ryou's amazed eyes, a sort of Rod with two wings on either side appeared. Pegasus pulled it gently out of Marik's chest, and Marik himself fell vulnerable in his arms. Ryou watched, amazed, as the Rod began to lengthen and Pegasus unsheathed a gleaming sword from its scabbard.

"How?" Ryou barely asked when Pegasus suddenly charged at him

"Welcome to the world of _real_ Dueling!" Pegasus laughed as Ryou struggled to parry his blows. "I'll slice your card into ribbons!" Ryou gave a wordless shout and jumped away from one of Pegasus' swipes. He gripped his chest, feeling that the card was still intact. Pegasus then rushed forward once more and caused Ryou to parry almost endlessly.

"Why are you…so motivated?" Ryou growled. "It's like that card is your life!" Pegasus gave him a grave look amidst his blows.

"You don't understand," he sneered. "This card _is_ my life!" With these words, he gave a deadly swipe that cut Ryou's sword cleanly in half. Ryou gave a gasp of surprise and Marik, from the sidelines, clenched his fists in despair. Ryou ducked from Pegasus' next blows, dodging with all his might. He took one look at the forlorn Marik before deciding that, no matter what, he would win the duel!

"What weak spot could Pegasus have?" he muttered to himself. Ryou then realized that Pegasus was focusing all his effort on his attacks, leaving no guard over his card. Ryou realized that he'd have to combine his defense tactics with his attack tactics, and rushed at Pegasus. Pegasus, in his surprise, began to lose ground as he fought to counter Ryou's attacks with his own. Ryou smirked as he finally swiped the card from Pegasus' lapel, causing the man to fall to the ground in defeat. Picking up the Blue Eyes Toon Dragon card, Ryou ripped it cleanly in half and tossed it behind him. "Don't hurt any more people, grooms or otherwise," he snapped. He turned towards Marik who was regarding him with amazement. With a smile, he extended an elbow. "Would you come with me, Marik?" Marik grinned and made his way towards Ryou, laying a hand delicately in the curve of his elbow.

"That I would, my dear prince," he replied, causing Ryou to blush. With a start, Ryou felt Marik place something in his hand. He stared, and was astonished to discover the Millennium Eye at his fingertips. Flinching a bit in disgust over where the Eye may have been, he decided to pocket the Item and continue escorting Marik to the rose garden where he'd first found him. The two left a spluttering, Eyeless Pegasus on the ground.

"Okay, I know you're grateful and all that, but is sharing my room absolutely necessary?" Ryou asked, a bit freaked out by how quickly Marik seemed to move his stuff into their room. Marik turned to him with a withering look.

"I'm the Rose Groom, and I'm always Engaged to the victor," he stated, as if from a textbook. "It's part of the deal. If you don't like it, maybe you could lose a Duel to the next person who fights." Ryou stared at him in shock.

"There are more Duelists?" he moaned. "Why is everyone fighting each other?" Marik sighed exasperatedly.

"I think it has something to do with the fact that the power through the Millennia only comes to those Engaged with the Rose Groom," he said sarcastically, making his way onto Ryou's bed. Ryou started as he recalled that Marik had said "power through the Millennia" when calling upon the mystical sword Pegasus had used. He sighed, marveling at the mess he'd gotten himself into, then turned to his bed. His dreams consisted of roses, Rings, and Rods.

"So, you're the famous Ryou Bakura," a small boy said, grinning cutely. Ryou stared at him with confusion, and turned towards Marik. Marik had insisted in following him around. Ryou hadn't minded, as Marik's constant chatter was, frankly, more interesting than Téa's vain rants. Marik only gave him a secretive smile, and the small boy suddenly pulled out a chain that had been around his neck. "My name is Yugi Mutou. You might have heard of me from Pegasus." Yugi seemed to make a face at Pegasus' name, but then seemed to bounce back immediately. "I want to Duel for the Rose Groom, so please meet me at the Dueling arena before sunset." Ryou immediately was taken aback when he realized that Yugi had a Puzzle with the same design as the Ring and the Eye.

"Come on!" Ryou cried. "I don't even want to duel!" Yugi was taken aback, but, once again, bounced back.

"You could always lose on purpose," he suggested. Ryou glanced at Marik, who shrugged slightly. He fingered the pouch that held the Eye reluctantly, as if merely making sure that it was still attached to his belt. Ryou then turned to his Ring, and immediately knew that he wouldn't be able to give it up. He sighed, then placed his hands on his hips.

"I won't lose on purpose," he said. "Yugi Mutou, I don't know your motivations, but I will defeat you to protect my Ring!" Yugi gave a boyish smile.

"Great! I won't lose!" he chirped, and left the area. Ryou rolled his eyes, but Marik suddenly tapped his shoulder.

"Hey, don't take Yugi lightly," he said seriously. "He's cheerful and small, but he's incredibly strong with his Puzzle. You see…" he looked at something far away, almost dismal in his stance. "Yugi has a twin brother, Yami. They used to do everything together, but suddenly, Yami began to drift away. Yugi's just never been the same since." Ryou looked at Marik strangely.

"What do you mean 'never been the same'?" he asked. "He doesn't look all that sad to me."

"That's just it," Marik replied. "Yugi looks all happy on the outside, but on the inside, he's suffering from the lack of closeness with his brother. You could say that he has a hidden strength." He shrugged. "Just don't lose." Ryou stared at him curiously.

"Yugi seems like a nice guy," he said slowly. "Even if I lose, what's it to you? At least he wouldn't beat you like Pegasus would." Marik blushed and turned his head down. Fiddling with his schoolboy's tie, he suddenly looked up with anger.

"I just…I just don't want my Engaged to lose! Is that so bad?" he spluttered, his entire face red. Ryou smiled at him.

"I didn't see you treating Pegasus this way when you were Engaged to _him_," he taunted. Marik rolled his eyes and made his way to the rose garden.

"Whatever. I won't cheer for you next time," he said sullenly. Ryou watched him as he left with a sort of forlorn expression, and then he decided to follow him.

"Hey, look, I didn't mean to embarrass you," he said breathlessly. "It's all good. I'm glad that you're rooting for me." Marik turned haunted eyes toward him.

"If you had to choose me or your Ring, which would you choose?" he said flatly. Ryou looked taken aback, and there was a pause between the two boys. Marik looked down and sighed. "Exactly." He then walked toward the rose garden, and Ryou felt he had no choice but to go back to his dorm and prepare.

The stairs to the dueling arena seemed less tiring than before, and Ryou flinched slightly when he noticed his princely clothes changing before his eyes. His outfit was embellished at the shoulders as well as at the cuffs, and he had a gold chain that extended from his collar to his shoulder. Feeling extremely dignified, he made his way up the stairs to see Yugi with his Millennium Puzzle around his neck, receiving the Dark Magician card from the red-embellished Marik. Marik exchanged casual conversation with Yugi, but only shot Ryou a stony look. Ryou sighed, and made his way to the opposing side of the field. Marik fastened his Change of Heart card on. As Yugi drew his own sword, Marik put his hands to his chest.

"Power through the Millennia, I call to thee!" he cried, the white light once again shining on his chest. "Heed your master and come forth!" Ryou caught Marik as he began to fall, and the Rod appeared from his chest. Brandishing the Rod in his right hand, Ryou held the disoriented Marik in his other arm. After a short moment, Marik stood up and made his way to the edge of the field. The duel began when Ryou charged.

"Nice try!" Yugi chirped as he easily dodged the attack. Yugi continued to parry all of Ryou's attacks, all with a smile on his face. With a sound of exasperation, Ryou drove his sword straight against Yugi's, forcing Yugi to step back a couple of paces. Yugi, however, bounced back quickly. Ryou couldn't help but be reminded of the way he held a conversation with Yugi; he'd always bounced back. Marik rolled his eyes at the edge of the field, and his resentful gaze seemed to say "I told you so." Ryou fell back, surprised, and struggled to parry Yugi's newfound strength.

"What?" he said to himself in surprise. "It's like I never overpowered him in the first place!" With a cry, Yugi drove his sword straight towards Ryou's card. Despite himself, Marik bit his lip in fright. Ryou didn't fail him however, and dodged the attack with flawlessness. "Let's see," he muttered to himself. "What are Yugi's weaknesses?" He watched as the cheerful boy concentrated equally on attack and defense, and realized that if he ever wanted to defeat him, he'd have to use an all-powerful attack instead of slowly breaking down Yugi's defense, as he had done with Pegasus. The swords clashed, and Ryou looked for an opening. Finally, Yugi had been overpowered again and was about to bounce back. Ryou quickly swiped his sword at Yugi's chest, and suddenly, Yugi froze. He stared down at his lapel, and found that his card was sliced cleanly in two. With a gasp, he fell to the floor, and his Millennium Puzzle broke from its chain and bounced at Ryou's feet. Ryou sighed, and stepped over the Puzzle. Holding out a hand, he smiled at the fallen Yugi. "Hey, it's alright."

"I could've used the Rose Groom's power to get my brother back," Yugi whispered with a ghost of a smile. "I could've had a family again." Ryou looked down at him coldly, retracting his hand.

"The 'Rose Groom' has a name," he said curtly. "And you should stop feeling sorry for yourself. Just because your brother has new friends doesn't mean that _you_ can't have any. There are plenty of students who could probably be friends with you." Ryou tossed his head and met Marik's gaze. "Eventually, you'll find a friend that you wouldn't want to leave for the world." Marik stared back, his mouth parted slightly in surprise, but Ryou then bent down and looked at Yugi again. "Your brother may have gotten new friends, but that doesn't stop you from getting any new friends as well. You should go out there and look for friends, like your brother, instead of wallowing in your misery." Yugi looked up and sighed.

"Y-you're right," he whispered. "I should…move on." Ryou smiled at him.

"There's hope for you yet, kid!" he said, clapping him on the shoulder. Yugi turned to him and raised an eyebrow.

"'Kid?' I'm older than you are! I'm a junior!" he cried indignantly. Ryou looked at him in shock, and Marik chose this time to intervene.

"Alright, that was fun and all, but here is your new Puzzle," he drawled, depositing the Puzzle in Ryou's shocked hands. Yugi looked down at his hands forlornly, and looked back up at Marik.

"I'm sorry for referring to you as the Rose Groom and not by your actual name," he said shyly. "What might that be?"

"Marik Ishtar," Marik answered. He put an arm around both Ryou and Yugi. "Let's all get out of here, okay?" Yugi smiled and nodded.

"Heh, flirting with an opposing duelist, I see? Maybe I should've let you win after all, Yugi!" Ryou joked.

"Hey! I resent that!" Marik snapped. "You like me, and you know it!" Ryou grinned down at him, and to everyone's surprise, kissed him on the head.

"Maybe I do like you," he said mysteriously. Marik was speechless, but Yugi could only laugh as his face turned redder and redder. And so, the three friends made their way to their respective dorms, Yugi finally somewhat at peace with himself and ready to move on with his life.

Ryou was just getting ready for bed when Marik entered his room that Saturday night. Ryou looked at him confusedly.

"Where've you been, Marik?" he asked. "I ate dinner all by myself!" Marik was subdued, and shrugged. Ryou stared at him, but decided not to say anything. Marik slowly made his way to bed, and Ryou couldn't help but notice the limp in his gait. "Are…are you okay, Marik?" he asked.

"I'm fine, alright?" Marik snapped in his quiet tone. As he climbed into bed, Ryou made his way to him. Before Marik could pull the covers up, Ryou kissed him on the forehead.

"I'm glad that you're okay," he whispered. Marik gave him a small smile, and as Ryou went to turn off the light, watched the ceiling above him. Ryou didn't hear the soft sobs that echoed through the room that night.

Téa was upset. Ryou had been hanging out with Marik for so long that it seemed like he'd all but forgotten about her.

"I'm his best friend!" she growled, frustrated. "Why can't he ever _talk_ to me anymore? Is that too much to ask?" Téa kicked at a rock and sadly stared up at the rose garden where Ryou was talking with Marik and Yugi. She scowled, but didn't walk over. "I guess he's just too good for me…like everyone else," she sighed mournfully. Her fists clenched as tears made a trail down her face. "What gives him the right to just leave? I wanted to make _more_ friends in high school, not lose the ones I'd already had!" She suddenly stopped as a turban-clad man appeared in front of her, narrowing his eyes mysteriously.

"Hello…" he said.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going," Téa laughed, wiping her eyes. "Is there something you wanted?" The man silently held up a set of Scales.

"I came to give you this…" he said silently. Téa gasped in awe.

"It's so beautiful!" she said. The moment she touched it, however, her eyes became dull and all the hatred that manifested within her came out. The man disappeared, and Téa was left angry and full of vengeance.

"And then, Pegasus started ranting at me for hanging out with you guys!" Yugi laughed. Ryou shook his head, as if in shame.

"Honestly, when is that guy ever going to learn?" he asked. Marik sighed.

"Never. He's so full of himself that he'll never grow past that. Did you know that he used to comb his hair every morning at six-o'clock? That just shows how desperate he was to get his hair right. I mean, school doesn't even start until eleven!" he laughed, Ryou and Yugi laughing alongside him.

"Aw, isn't this nice?" a cold voice suddenly interrupted. The trio turned, and Ryou smiled.

"Téa? Hey! Let me introduce you to my new friends!" he chirped, but suddenly, Téa grabbed his wrist.

"I don't care about your new friends," she sneered. "Meet me at the Dueling arena at six." Ryou looked at her, shocked.

"You're a Duelist, too?" he asked. Marik and Yugi looked at her in surprise. Téa smirked smugly at them and pulled out her Millennium Scales. Ryou's eyes widened, and suddenly he clasped the hand she'd laid on his wrist. "Téa, please, I don't want to Duel you…" Téa's eyes narrowed, and she pulled out of his grasp.

"Look, do you want the Scales or not?" she snapped. "The only way to get them is if you Duel me, so shut up and meet me there at six!" She left in a huff, leaving the surprised trio of friends behind.

When Ryou entered the Dueling arena, he felt apprehension at the sight of Téa holding a sword of her own. Téa clenched her fist as Marik appeared reluctantly and gave her the Dark Magician Girl card. She turned her face away from him as he silently wished her good luck, and then she turned to Ryou with a miffed face. Marik wordlessly fastened the Change of Heart onto Ryou's lapel, then brought his hands to his chest.

"No," Ryou said suddenly. Marik kept his hands to his chest, but looked at Ryou, surprised.

"What? Did you bring your own sword?" he asked. Ryou smiled, but shook his head. Marik's eyes widened. "You're not thinking of fighting her without a weapon, are you?" he asked with desperation. "Ryou, that's suicide!" Ryou turned to Téa, giving her a grave look.

"I would never fight Téa," he said sullenly. "She's my friend, and there is no way I would ever be a prince if I raised my sword to someone who meant that much to me." Marik looked down guiltily, but stepped back. He gave one last sad look at Ryou before the Duel began. Téa immediately rushed forward, but Ryou caught her from behind and gave her a gentle hug. Téa twisted in his grasp and succeeded in releasing herself from his clutches, brandishing her sword and trying to reach his card.

"This is only what you deserve!" she shrieked, almost succeeding. Ryou caught her arms just before she could scrape his card, and looked at her eye-to-eye.

"Do you really think I deserve to be treated this harshly?" he said quietly. "I didn't know that you felt this strongly, and for that I am sorry. But honestly, Téa…" Ryou pulled her into a reluctant embrace. "I would be honored if you visited Marik, Yugi, and I at the rose garden." Téa gave a wordless scream and, once again, escaped from Ryou's grip.

"I don't care about you or your little friends!" she yelled. "All I care about is destroying everything you love, and I'm going to start with the Rose Groom!" Marik's eyes widened, and he met his gaze with Ryou's. The two blushed, but only for a moment. Ryou turned to Téa with an angry expression.

"If you really don't care at all about me, then you aren't my friend," he said stonily. "I know that my true friend, Téa, is in there, but you aren't her." Téa cackled and charged again, but this time, Ryou easily grabbed the arm wielding her sword. He calmly grabbed her other hand and stared at her as she struggled. Téa suddenly broke down, crying, and fell limp in Ryou's arms. She wrenched her hand out of Ryou's, but then grabbed the card at her lapel and crushed it, throwing it on the floor.

"I'm…sorry, Ryou!" she sobbed. Ryou smiled hugely, and hugged her.

"I missed you, Téa," he said soothingly. "There's no other best friend for me." Marik pouted at him from the sidelines, but shrugged it off and raised his arm. With a flash of bright light, the Scales emerged in his left hand and he walked over to the victor.

"Here, Ryou," he said, a bit miffed. "Don't even _try_ to reject this." Ryou embarrassedly clutched the prize in one hand and a crying Téa in the other. Marik sighed a bit jealously, and folded his arms. "Okay, now it's time to go!" he snapped, walking away from the scene in a huff. Ryou rolled his eyes and turned to Téa, who was now looking at him with a sort of glee.

"He doesn't even know, does he?" she laughed. Ryou looked at her confusedly, and she laughed harder. "Aw, c'mon! You can't hide it from me! The reason I'm your only best friend is because Marik's your crush, right?" Ryou gasped, blushing heavily.

"N-no way!" he protested. "Marik's just a friend!" Téa sighed.

"That's what _I _thought, and that's why I was so jealous," she said. "But now that I know that he's your _crush_, it all makes sense! Of _course_ you would rather spend time impressing him than little ol' me!" With a twirl, Téa looked back at him. "Just don't even think about ditching me again! Let me help you in your quest for LOVE!" With a wink, she charged down the stairs in hope of catching up to Marik. Ryou slumped his shoulders and followed, more confused than ever about his feelings for Marik.

One Saturday night, Marik entered the room in tears. Ryou immediately stood from his table and approached him, but Marik ran toward the bathroom and locked himself in it.

"Marik, open up!" Ryou called, pounding on the door. "What's wrong? Is it because of the place you go every Saturday?" If possible, Marik's sobbing grew louder. "Tell me!"

"Just go away!" Marik sobbed. "Leave me alone!"

"That's not possible!" Ryou snapped. "Now open up before I force the door open!" Marik sniffled, but refused to open the door. Ryou growled and grabbed a nail that had been lying in the corner. He placed it in the lock and moved it around, hearing the successful snap. Without any hesitation, he entered the bathroom and gasped.

Marik was covered in bruises, mostly centered around his thighs. His neck showed evidence of strangling, and his back sported deep welts that could only be the work of a whip. Ryou stared at him in shock, his hand frozen on the door, and Marik looked down shamefully. Tears suddenly came to Ryou's eyes, and he walked over to Marik and hugged him.

"I'll kill whoever did this to you," he choked. "Oh, Marik…" Marik began sobbing anew, and hugged Ryou back despite his naked body. They stood like that for a few moments before Ryou picked Marik up and began treating his wounds. He slowly brushed away any tears Marik shed, and stroked his face until he stopped crying. "Tell me, Marik…who did this?" Marik shook his head, but Ryou only narrowed his eyes, anticipating his reaction. "I'm your Engaged, and as my first true command, I demand to know who did this." Marik stared at him in shock, and his face wrinkled with the onslaught of new tears.

"My brother," he choked. "My brother did this to me…" Ryou stared back, watching as his friend broke down once more, and enveloped Marik into his arms. Without even knowing what he was doing, Ryou began kissing Marik's face repeatedly, whispering apologies and promises of revenge. Marik drank it in, holding onto Ryou for comfort. It was when Ryou kissed him on the lips that he pulled back, shocked, and stared at him. There were so many barriers between them: his Rose Groom status, his brother, his gender, and yet Ryou had felt inclined to kiss him. "Ryou…" Marik breathed. "A-are you sure?" Ryou looked at him with determined eyes.

"Marik, I can't exactly help it," he whispered. "I'm…I'm in love with you." Marik was dumbstruck, and Ryou smiled before kissing him again. "Do you love me, too?" he finally asked.

"Ryou…" Marik said slowly. "I…I can't…" Ryou looked at him sadly, but understood. With a sigh, he pulled away and began washing Marik again. Marik looked away guiltily, wondering why he had to be the Rose Groom and thus Engaged to anyone who won him. He wanted to be with Ryou so badly, but he knew he couldn't for fear of breaking his own heart if Ryou ever lost a Duel.

"If I Duel your brother…" Ryou suddenly spoke. "Could I have you forever?" Marik looked up at him in shock.

"Ryou…he's a professional. You can only face him if you get six Millennium Items!" he spluttered. Ryou tossed his head arrogantly and smiled.

"I already have the Ring, Eye, Scales, and Puzzle. And Rod, if you stay with me," he said, wrapping an arm around Marik. Marik blushed, but turned toward him.

"I don't have much choice, do I?" Marik laughed. "But you seem to forget that if you lose one duel, you lose all of your Items." Ryou frowned.

"I won't lose. I know that you love me," he said gravely. Marik ducked his head down so as to not reveal his true feelings and misery. "And I also know that you won't admit it only because of the whole 'Rose Groom' thing. I'm not afraid of your brother, and I don't care if you're a boy, I just want to be with you because you make me happy." Marik looked up and smiled, though with a hopeless feeling. Ryou kissed him slowly, pulling back while looking at his face. "Even if you don't love me, I promise to set you free somehow. I won't let anyone, least of all your own brother, touch you like that again!" Marik was suddenly crushed to the boy, and he sighed a shaky sigh. How Ryou had so much faith in his own abilities without even meeting his brother, he didn't know. He didn't even want to know what side he himself would eventually have to choose…

Ryou forbade Marik from going out every Saturday night, and since then, Marik had been happier. They became much closer, slowly but surely, and Marik began to react to Ryou's advances. Whenever Ryou held out a hand, Marik would grasp it with affection, and whenever Ryou helped with the rose garden, Marik made sure to give him a peck on the cheek in thanks. It was a sunny day out when Ryou encountered someone besides Marik in the rose garden, though she resembled the boy closely.

"Er, hey, who're you?" he asked confusedly. The woman frowned, and Ryou could immediately tell that she was one of those people who only spoke a few words. "Um, okay? Look, have you seen my friend around? His name is Marik, and he's blond with purple eyes."

"My brother," the woman said stonily. Ryou was slightly taken aback, but then noticed some similarities within the woman's complexion and Marik's own.

"Yeah, so, where is he?" he asked. The woman sighed exasperatedly, then glared at him with a deadly focus.

"You chose to intervene into our family affairs," she said angrily. "I, therefore, must punish you." Ryou raised both eyebrows.

"Look, Marik's brother is abusive, and I took Marik away from him before he could do worse," he said angrily. "Don't tell me what is good and what is not, because I'm sure that what Marik's brother does is not right."

"You are wrong," the woman snapped. "My name is Ishizu. I will Duel you for Marik's custody at the Dueling arena. We shall see who is in the right!" With that, the woman walked away. Ryou raised an eyebrow.

"You don't even have a Millennium Item!" he called. Ishizu turned to him and sneered.

"I have the Millennium Necklace," she answered curtly, gesturing to her collar. "You shall fall, Ryou Bakura, and I shall be the one to make you fall." With a huff, she turned away. Ryou looked after her angrily, but then watered the roses to calm himself down. In a matter of minutes, Marik showed up with a bucket of fertilizer, grinning cheerfully at Ryou's presence. His grin dropped, however, when he realized that Ryou was in a grave mood.

"Hey, Ryou! What's up?" he asked, concerned. Ryou turned to him with a forlorn expression, as if guilty.

"Your sister just challenged me to a Duel," he said quietly. Marik stiffened, and he looked terror-stricken. "She says its something about 'interfering with the family.' Marik, does she have any idea what's going on?" Marik slowly shook his head.

"Ishizu is always efficient. She's known as the 'noble one' in our family," he stuttered. "She's a hard one to beat, Ryou! She can see the future, I swear!" Ryou looked at him incredulously.

"Okay, now I know you're lying."

"I'm serious, Ryou! I…I don't even think it's possible to beat her!" Marik insisted, nearly in tears. "I'm sorry, but she's never been beaten! The few times she ever fought, she won with ease!"

"She probably fought a bunch of weaklings," Ryou sniffed. "I'm probably more of a challenge than anyone she's ever faced." Marik stared at him in surprise, then turned away.

"Ishizu battled my brother." Ryou turned to him in shock. "And she won." Ryou then scrutinized Marik with an intense stare.

"Why doesn't _she_ rescue you?" he asked. "Why don't you just tell her what's been going on and allow her to help you?" Marik remained looking at the opposite wall.

"Ishizu is different. She has to be sure of herself and her family in order to win. The only one who is in the wrong must be her adversary, so she can focus her attacks wholly on them," Marik explained quietly. "If I tell her that my brother's been…raping me this entire time, she'll be sure to blame herself for not knowing, and all it will cause is an unstoppable brother. He'll…probably abuse her, too." Ryou stared at him sadly, and wrapped an arm around him.

"I'll try my best against her, okay?" he said firmly. "Don't worry. I _will_ win." Marik looked up at him with tearstained eyes.

"I hope you will."

"Power through the Millennia, I call to thee!" Marik cried, causing a white light to shine from his chest. Ishizu watched with a grimace as the light illuminated her Monster Reborn card. Ryou caught Marik as he fell, pulling out the Millennium Rod and watching it extend as he kept a strong hold on him. After recovering, Marik offered Ryou a lingering glance and walked over to the edge of the field. With a nod, the duel commenced.

Ryou was the first to charge at a docile-seeming Ishizu when, before he could register a change, she seemed to teleport out of the way. Ryou whirled around, trying to locate the woman, but was easily overpowered when Ishizu suddenly appeared at his flank and stabbed at his card. Ryou quickly dodged, but Ishizu recuperated just as quickly and began to attack him with small blows against the Rod. Marik bit his lip and turned away, knowing how this move worked. Ryou tried not to let her get the better of him, but losing his concentration to the parrying, he failed to realize that he was rapidly losing ground. Marik remained facing away from the scene, knowing that Ishizu was using one of her signature moves to perfection, and he did not want to see the way it would end. With a cry, Ryou suddenly broke from the attack and rounded Ishizu's flank. Marik snapped his head back in surprise, and witnessed Ryou twisting out of Ishizu's attack. With shock, he felt his fists clench with hope and bit his lip in anticipation. Ryou grinned at his small victory, and slashed his sword at Ishizu's vulnerable stance.

Ishizu, however, was unperturbed by her small loss, and immediately retaliated. Viciously attacking, she slashed left and right, preventing any openings from exposing her to Ryou's advantage. Ryou hissed in anger as he felt himself, once again, lose ground. Ishizu was relentless, and Marik felt himself shudder in foreboding. Ryou ducked, then, and performed a small roll that made quick work of evasion. He clenched his teeth, realizing that Marik had been right. Ishizu wasn't like any other Duelist he'd faced. With a wild cry, he piled all his energies and charged at her, willing himself to win at whatever the cost. The Rod was aimed straight at her card, and Ryou knew that the charge would be impossible to miss. He clenched his teeth as he grew closer, willing himself to win at whatever the cost, when suddenly Ishizu whirled around and sliced his own card with an extensive flourish.

The entire arena grew silent. Ryou stared in shock as the tattered pieces of his card floated dejectedly to the ground. He dropped to his knees, and heard footsteps rush towards him as Marik drew close.

"Ryou!" Marik sobbed. "Ryou, it's okay! I'm sorry…but it's all right! You…you did your best…" Marik gave a final hug before Ishizu gasped a sharp warning, and he drew away. Ryou clenched his fists at Marik's retreating figure, and howled at the sky at his loss. Marik sobbed harder, and Ishizu turned to him with a confused, but firm stare. Ryou was left in the center of the arena, punching the ground once before being left in his misery.

Téa watched sadly as Ryou walked with her with a dead look in his eyes. Yugi walked alongside him, equally as sad, but tried to cheer up the boy as best as he could.

"Hey there, Ryou," he said softly, "It's not the end of the world! You can still visit Marik whenever you want to, right?" Ryou didn't answer, but buried his head in his arm. He'd wanted to be Marik's prince, and then he'd wanted to be so much more! It was so sudden, the way his dreams had been all but taken away. Téa folded her arms in discomfort, and suddenly stepped in front of Ryou.

"Ryou, if you want him back, you should fight for him!" she resolved. Yugi looked at her incredulously.

"What're you talking about? There's no need to fight, is there? Why can't he just be friends with Marik? I had to settle for it!" he exclaimed, pouting. Téa frowned at him.

"Yeah, well, _you_ weren't in love with Marik!" she said dismissively, and Yugi turned to Ryou incredulously.

"Is this true?" he asked with surprise. Ryou sighed and turned away.

"Look, you guys, there's a lot more that's going on," he said in his dead tone. "Just…leave me alone." Téa and Yugi watched sadly as Ryou walked away slowly, wondering to themselves what had him so down. Yugi turned to her suddenly, and his expression was that of shock.

"Wait, Téa! Ryou _can't_ Duel for Marik!" he cried. "He has no Millennium Items left!" Téa's eyes widened at this realization, and she clenched her fists.

"Well, I know that no one deserves Marik more than Ryou does!" she hissed. "We have to do _something_, Yugi! Ryou has to do something to get back into the game!" Yugi nodded.

"Ryou said something about there being more than just what's on the surface," he said. "If we could pry it out of him, I think we'll be able to help!" Téa grinned and cheered.

"Great job, Yugi! I knew I could count on you!" she laughed, giving him a peck on the cheek before running off. Yugi blushed a brilliant red as he watched the brown-haired girl run eagerly to where her downtrodden friend had just headed.

"Marik, please sit down," Ishizu sighed. Marik stiffened, but obeyed his mistress' command. He felt a wince of pain as his new bruises and aches met in contact with the chair, and Ishizu stared at him oddly. "Are you alright, Marik?" she asked tentatively. Marik gave a slow nod, reaching for his spoon and taking a sip of soup. Ishizu looked at him worriedly. "You know, I understand that you're upset with my decision to defeat Ryou…" Marik gave a small glare to his bowl. "…But I don't understand why you have to be so quiet. You act as if I physically punished you." Marik turned away, knowing that his sister had unwittingly done just that. Ishizu sighed and bunched the napkin in her hands. "Marik, I demand to know what's wrong," she said firmly. "As my Engaged, you have to tell me." Marik flinched, and decided to sidestep the question.

"I'm…just upset that I lost such a good friend…" he sighed. Ishizu smiled at him fondly.

"Oh, Marik, you'll make some new ones," she began, but Marik shot his head up and glared at her.

"I'll never have a good friend like Ryou, and you can't convince me of anything different," he snapped. "I miss him terribly, and if you really want to make me happy, let me be with him!" With a sudden choked sob, Marik got up with a considerable amount of hidden pain and made his way to the living room. Ishizu sighed sadly, fingering her Millennium Necklace in indecision.

Téa knew that the only way to get Ryou to talk at this point was if she insulted Marik. Earlier that evening, one of the many Ryou-fans had insisted that Marik was a loser for "dumping" Ryou, and Ryou had positively blown up at her and scared the entire posse into submission. Téa had sighed at the display, but now she knew that she had to use it to her own advantage. She caught up to Ryou before class started and forced him to stop and listen.

"_I _know why you're so down," she lied. The hallway was silent as Ryou stared at her.

"You're lying," he said tonelessly. "You know nothing." Téa gritted her teeth and stared harder at him.

"That bastard Marik dumped you, didn't he?" she snapped, feeling horrible and apologizing to Marik in her head. Ryou flared and clenched his fists, a reaction that gave Téa some relief.

"Don't even _say_ that!" he snarled. "Especially when you don't even know what's going on!"

"Oh, I know perfectly well what's going on!" Téa retorted, letting all the anger at Ryou's past behavior take over. "That idiot dumped you and now you're miserable all on his account! He doesn't deserve to even _breathe_!" Ryou's eyes flashed with anger to an extent that Téa had never seen in the usually mild-mannered boy.

"SHUT UP!" he roared. "You have _no idea_ what he's going through! If you even had the _slightest_ clue-"

"I don't care!" Téa retorted, knowing that if Ryou slapped her, she'd probably deserve it. "Marik is a mean, insensitive jerk who thinks he can do anything he wants and toss anyone away-" At this, Ryou quickly stepped away from her and growled.

"You wouldn't know what it was like to be raped by someone you trust," he said lowly with the deepest, darkest anger Téa had ever heard. Téa knew that she had to push further.

"Oh, what? His best friend raped him?" she replied angrily, masking her true feelings of shock and extreme sadness. Ryou glared at her dully, and Téa knew that he was beyond angry, but his gentlemanly behavior forbade him from taking it out on her.

"His own brother," he choked. "I never, _ever_ want to speak to you again." With that, he walked away before Téa could get a word in edgewise. With a bittersweet glance, Téa knew that she'd gotten the information she needed to save Ryou and Marik from being torn apart.

Ryou was too gentlemanly to ever betray a princes' secret to someone the prince absolutely didn't want to tell. Téa, however, wasn't gentlemanly and was certainly not above telling someone necessary information when she was sure that they needed to hear it. After following Marik for some time, she inferred that his sister, who she figured out was the noble Ishizu Ishtar, was the culprit when it came to the separation between Marik and Ryou. After observing their conversation from afar over the course of three weeks, she finally deduced that Ishizu didn't know about Marik's "Saturday excursions" due to the fact that she always tried to get Marik to eat or smile, never realizing the true extent of his sorrow.

Téa sighed, hating herself for allowing Marik to go to his brother so often when she clearly knew what happened, but knew that if she wanted a permanent solution in place for Marik, she had to ensure that Ryou was his Engaged once more. Based on the information Yugi weaseled out of Ryou, Ishizu was extremely family-oriented and her strength seemed to draw on her family itself. Téa frowned. Ishizu thought that Marik was the weak link in the family whose sadness was bringing everyone down, when in reality, it was her other brother that caused the misery. A plan hatched in Téa's mind, and gathering Yugi, she quickly explained her formula of getting Ishizu to see the truth.

"Step one," she whispered as Ishizu dropped Marik off to class. "Drop the seed." Yugi grinned and gave one of his other friends, Joey, the signal. On cue, Joey and another friend of Yugi's, Tristan, walked by Ishizu talking conversationally.

"Did you hear what that Marik kid does on Saturday nights?" he said in a shocked tone. Téa noted that Ishizu's attention pricked at the tone and at her brother's name, and she began to walk slower. Tristan shrugged, then Joey leaned in cautiously to whisper in his ear. "I heard he…" and the rest was whispered. Before Ishizu could turn and question the pair, the boys pulled off an excuse. "Shit, Tristan! We're late!" Joey suddenly cried. Tristan agreed, and the two bolted off with Ishizu staring after them in surprise. Téa grinned, and offered a high-five to Yugi. Yugi bravely brushed her hand away and kissed her cheek instead, causing both their faces to blush a deep red.

"Step two," Téa whispered the next day. "Water the plant." Yugi walked with Miho, the gossip queen, and told her that Ishizu completely didn't care about where Marik went when he walked off to a mysterious place Saturday night. Miho immediately came up with conclusions of her own, and in a few days, the entire school was buzzing about Ishizu's supposed "neglect". Téa watched as a frustrated Ishizu stomped up and down the corridors, explaining to students that she did care about Marik and that she trusted him enough to make sure that he went to his brother during those Saturday nights. Téa smiled and kissed Yugi full on the lips before hugging him, and held hands with him the rest of the day, glowing in her success.

"Step three, the final step," Téa whispered to her new boyfriend. "Deliver the roses." She gulped, and Yugi offered her an encouraging smile. This was the step unique to her, and it was her talent with words that would either make or break the delicate exchange. With a firm sigh of resolve, she made her way to a frustrated Ishizu who was telling yet another group that she was a good sister and Marik was a trustworthy brother. "I don't think so," she said loudly. Ishizu froze, and turned toward Téa. A couple yards away, Ryou narrowed his eyes at the exchange.

"Pardon?" Ishizu sneered.

"I don't think you're a good sister," Téa said bravely, causing some heads to turn. "You say that you know where Marik goes every night, but do you really know?"

"I trust him enough to-"

"I'm Marik's friend," Téa suddenly intervened. "I know that he's having some problems, and I also know that every Saturday night, he's more depressed than before." Ishizu's eyes narrowed.

"All he does is visit his brother," she snapped. "I'm his sister, and I know more than any of his _friends_ ever do." Téa straightened, and glared. She was often successful with stubborn people such as Ishizu.

"Well you're _wrong_," she said finally. "_I_ know something's up, but I can't tell you what." Ishizu rolled her eyes, but Téa continued. "There are some things that even siblings aren't familiar with." At this, Ishizu's eyes met Marik's slumped form in the rose garden, stopping her eyes mid-roll. "Sometimes, in order to be an older sister, or even a _gentleman_-" Here, Téa met Ryou's eyes with a glare. "You have to push some boundaries and take matters into your own hands."

"What do you mean by that?" Ishizu snapped.

"I mean that in order for Marik to be happy, you have to find out what's really wrong with him, and you have to fight it. I know…" here, Téa lowered her voice. "I know that you're Engaged to him, but that doesn't make a difference. Like I said, I'm Marik's friend, and I know how devious he can be. You have to find the truth on your own, no matter what Marik tells you. If you're a true sister, you'd follow this lead and find out what Marik's up to on your own." Ishizu looked at Téa in shock, but Téa walked away before she was viewed as an adversary. Looking back over her shoulder at the right time, she offered Ishizu a smile and a parting message. "I'm sure you'll know the _noble_ thing to do."

It was lucky that Marik hadn't heard the gossip. It was lucky that Ishizu had taken the words of a _freshman_ girl so seriously. It was lucky that Ryou hadn't intervened.

All the same, luck found Ishizu Ishtar donning a cloak and following Marik at a close distance. She watched as he took reluctant steps to the tower that held his brother, and watched as tears began to fall from his eyes. Her conviction in Téa's statement grew as she noted that Marik began talking to himself about how scared he was and how much he didn't want to visit his brother. She followed him as closely as she dared, but couldn't follow closely enough to catch the tidbits of conversation that he was having with himself. With a start, Ishizu noted that another presence watched the two from above, and turned to see Ryou behind a rose-embellished arch, watching Marik with tears of his own.

Ishizu now _knew_ something was wrong, and followed Marik with a stronger ambition to find out the problem. When Marik reached the elevator to his brother's room, Ishizu encountered an issue. She couldn't very well reach the elevator without revealing her presence, and she couldn't go up after Marik was done without making a noise. She merely stood in her hiding spot, but then spied Ryou climbing up the roofs toward the bell tower. With resolve, she mimicked his actions and began to climb the roofs. Ryou seemed to pause and wait for her to make her progress before taking the next step. After the two reached the top of the bell tower, Ryou turned to her with a face that was paler than the one she saw at the dueling arena.

"Ishizu…" he began. "Marik is in terrible danger as we speak." Ishizu nodded with reluctance, but Ryou continued. "I'm going to tell you what's going on before you actually witness it for yourself. He's being raped by his…brother." Ishizu didn't utter a noise, but the expression she gave was enough to convey her thoughts. Slowly, her jaw parted, and her face paled of color. She shoved past Ryou and looked out the window of the bell tower to see the exact sight. With a cry she clutched the wall beside her, but her cry was lost to the cries of torture that issued from the tall tower. Ryou straightened, and unsheathed his sword. "For the last month," he whispered shakily. "I thought it was gentlemanly to respect Marik's wishes and leave him alone. Now, however…" he clenched his teeth. "I know better than to let that idiot hurt my love." Ishizu looked at him in surprise amongst her tears, but stopped him before he could climb the distance.

"I know that you feel this way," she said slowly. "But if you fight him now, there is no way Marik will stay safe…" She looked down at her own hands, and then stared up at him. "My strength is gone, but you have unimaginable strength. I saw it when you fought me that last time." Ryou looked at her with pure torture in his eyes, and Ishizu understood that he desperately wanted to save Marik. "Before another Saturday comes, I want you to fight me again. And this time, I want you to _win_." Ryou stared at her, but she clenched her teeth and stared back. "Yami Marik," she spat, indicating the man who was dominating Marik. "…Is a strong individual who wields the Millennium Key. In order for you to defeat him…" Ishizu stared at Ryou and clasped his shoulders. "You need to defeat me and become Engaged to the Rose Groom as soon as possible. In my current stature, there is no way I could ever defeat Yami Marik, even with the Rose Groom's help." Ryou noticed that the wails had died down, and felt his brows furrow with more resolve.

"As you know, my card is Monster Reborn. In Duel Monsters, it can only summon a Monster to the field. However…" she paused, letting Ryou sink in the information. "…We Ishtars are a special family…all of us have magical properties. I can regenerate any card I have defeated. This was the method that I used to regenerate Yami Marik's card when he was defeated, and this is the method I will use to regenerate your card." She brought her hands to her head, similar to the way Marik brought his hands to his chest. A white glow permeated from the center of her forehead, and she dropped the card into Ryou's waiting hands. "Change of Heart. A beautiful card. Don't let anyone cut it again," Ishizu finished, looking at Ryou expectantly.

"Thank you," was all that he muttered, but his eyes were still glued the image of a sobbing Marik. "We'll have our duel tomorrow, same time, same place." Ishizu nodded fervently.

"Here's your Millennium Ring. We must Duel as soon as possible so that Yami Marik doesn't challenge me and inevitably win," she decided. They parted ways, knowing that Marik was bound to come home soon. Ryou looked at the tower mournfully, but knew that there was only one more day before he and Marik reencountered. He decided to call in sick tomorrow and dedicate himself to training relentlessly.

"Power of the Millennia, I call to thee…" Marik said dully. Both Ishizu and Ryou showed signs of pain. Téa and Yugi, watching from the sidelines, held each other's hands to provide comfort. "Heed your master and come forth…" The Millennium Rod did, in fact, come forth and elongated into Ishizu's hand. Marik didn't seem to notice that Ryou had a new card, but gave him a fleeting glance all the same. Ryou ground his teeth and took his position.

"Prove to me that you are strong enough to protect Marik," Ishizu called softly, and Ryou rushed forward to do so. Marik watched fervently as Ishizu dodged the first attack, parried with the next, and clearly blocked the third. His eyes widened as he realized that her technique was much sloppier, and his jaw dropped as he further understood what that could only mean. Ishizu looked at a determined Ryou from the other side of their clashed swords. "Fight harder," she snarled. "I know you can." Ryou pushed away from her, clenching his sword hard as he readied his stance. Ishizu nodded to him and bent her legs, drawing her sword back. "Ryou, you seemed to have forgotten what you're truly fighting for," Ishizu said sternly. "Remember your affection for Marik, not your hatred for his brother." Marik looked toward Ryou, gaping, and Ryou's eyes flashed so that they were locked onto his. Ishizu continued. "Just because you lost to me once doesn't mean that you must lose again!" With that, she smirked and charged forward. She clashed swords with Ryou, who used all his strength to push her off once again. He recuperated quickly, however, and ducked bravely to avoid Ishizu's next blow. To the amazement of both Marik and Ishizu, he vaulted himself up and used the angle to elaborately maneuver Ishizu's sword out of her hand. Marik suddenly let out a cheer, and Ryou immediately smiled at him lovingly.

"I'll save you, Marik! No matter what!" he said proudly. Marik grinned back.

"I know you will!" he replied. Ishizu tried to use the opportunity of distraction to take down Ryou's defenses, but to no avail. Ryou whirled out of the way and extended his sword at the right moment to neatly slice the card in Ishizu's lapel in half. Ishizu's mouth fell open as she saw her Monster Reborn card flutter to pieces on the floor, and Yugi cheered loudly alongside an exuberant Téa. Ryou didn't pause to reclaim the Items that appeared before him, but instead rushed to his Rose Groom.

"Marik!" he cried, and Marik cried Ryou's name before taking part in a rough embrace. Ryou hugged him with all that he had. Marik was back, and one battle would determine whether he always would be. Ishizu smiled at the pair, but looked down to her card.

"Ryou," she suddenly said. Ryou turned from Marik to Ishizu, and his face shifted from exhilarated to serious. "Now that my Monster Reborn card is destroyed, you won't be able to revive yourself if you lose against my brother." She took the Items in a bundle and carried them over to Ryou. "I want you to protect my baby brother from that bastard because I never could. Please," she sighed. "Don't lose focus. He won't humor you with easy parries or intimidating charges. Every swipe he makes is deadly." Ryou nodded gravely. "He also won't hesitate to kill you if you hold out long enough. I know this by experience. Ryou, if you lose, you'll lose more than Marik; you'll probably lose your life." Ryou looked up adamantly.

"As strange as it sounds, Ishizu," he began. "Marik _is_ my life." Marik's eyes widened once more, before he smiled with a deep emotion on his face.

"You're mine, as well," he replied. "I can't dream of a world without you, Ryou." Ryou smiled at him, and Ishizu gave a small smile of her own. Téa gave a small cheer, then whirled and hugged Yugi tightly.

"C'mon, you guys!" she chirped after giving Yugi a kiss. "Let's go home. We have time for Ryou to practice with Yugi and Ishizu, so let's get to it!" The others agreed, and with his arm around Marik's waist, Ryou cheerfully walked down the stairs and to his future.

"Téa," Ryou said breathlessly, running up to her. Marik was just as breathless, and the two boys' frightened eyes immediately startled the girl.

"Hey, what's wrong? Where's Yugi?" she asked frantically. Marik shook his head.

"It's not that," he explained. "Ryou got…the letter." Téa raised an eyebrow.

"What letter?" she asked.

"_The_ letter, Téa!" Ryou exclaimed, pulling out a letter with a rose-shaped seal. Téa opened the envelope, seal already torn away, and read the rather short contents. _I shall be waiting to duel for the Rose Groom at the high tower tomorrow night. Prepare to lose, Ryou Bakura._ Téa gave a gasp, and suddenly Yugi appeared with another letter.

"Guys! The evil brother says that only Ryou and Marik are allowed to come see the duel!" he said, gesturing to the letter in his hands. "Do you think we should listen to him?" Téa was about to reply with a negative when Marik suddenly spoke up.

"Trust me, it would be wise," he said quietly. "Yami Marik is insane. He knows that if he hurts too many of my friends, I'll be cross with him, so he's trying to hurt as less as possible." Marik looked down. "He just doesn't know that I'd be furious if even only Ryou gets hurt…he just doesn't get it, and doesn't try to…" Ryou touched Marik's hand, and Marik looked up.

"I'll practice my hardest for you, Marik," he said gently. "But I also need you to be my side the entire time." Marik smiled at him.

"That I can do," he replied. "For now, you should just relax. You've practiced well beyond your limits, and I don't want you to be worn out when the time comes." Ryou nodded, and the rest of the day was spent relaxing with Téa and Yugi while watching their other friends play badminton.

Ryou held Marik's hand as they rose up the tower. Marik was quaking slightly in fear, but Ryou looked strong, even determined, as the gondola rose higher and higher to the one he was destined to defeat. He squeezed Marik's hand in comfort, but suddenly found himself being hugged with strong arms and kissed with extreme passion. Ryou returned the kiss with equal fervor until Marik pulled away.

"I want to say this before you fight and succumb to what fate has chosen for you," he said breathlessly. "I love you, and I always will. Whatever happens next won't change my feelings. If you want my honest opinion…" Ryou waited as he held Marik closer. "Kick that fucker's ass!" Marik hissed. Ryou chuckled, and hugged Marik, loving him all the more for his affection, his care, and his bravery in the face of his abuser. The elevator finally stopped at the height of the tower. The automatic doors opened to reveal a figure shrouded by darkness that was not akin to the darkness of the night. Ryou noted that such blackness seemed to be just the opposite of Marik's bright white light, and the fact only made him clench Marik's hand tighter. Marik, in turn, straightened and glared at Yami Marik. "You will never hurt me again!" he hissed. "I'm leaving your abuse!"

"We'll see about that," a deep voice answered. Yami Marik jumped from the shadows, except, Ryou noted, he didn't quite "jump". He seemed to _blend_ with the shadows in one instance, then _teleport_ to another area in the room. Ryou clenched his teeth, knowing that this skill was probably the one that made his foe the greatest there was. Marik closed his eyes and brought his hands to his chest.

"Power through the Millennia, I call to thee!" he yelled with as much emotion as he could muster. "Heed your master and come forth!" The blinding light that resulted from the extent of Marik's passion caused Yami Marik to draw back a bit, but Ryou only moved forward and caught Marik dutifully. Clutching the Rod that appeared from his chest, Ryou pulled it out and watched as it elongated. Marik recovered quickly, and suddenly brushed a hand over Ryou's face and body. Where he touched, the Millennium Items appeared. Ryou was surprised when he realized that he was wearing six of the Millennium Items, including three neck accessories, but felt completely weightless. Marik then touched his breast, and the Change of Heart appeared in his lapel. Ryou smiled to him gratefully, confidently. "Good luck, Ryou," Marik whispered. He made his way to Yami Marik, and to Ryou's dismay, the Dark Hole appeared as Yami Marik's card. It was fitting, Ryou had to admit, but it was also quite dangerous.

"Well? Let's duel!" Yami Marik cackled. Ryou stayed put, refusing to charge into his foe. Yami Marik only cackled louder and disappeared into the shadows. Ryou looked wildly around, but the man was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, he felt the hairs at the back of his neck stand up and he whirled around to clash swords with his adversary. Ryou grit his teeth in astonishment. He hadn't even heard Yami Marik approach! Yami Marik, in turn, narrowed his eyes. He still maintained a feral grin, but Ryou could sense a bit of distaste appear in his demeanor. Ryou pushed him off with no small amount of strength, breathing heavily so shortly into the Duel.

Luckily, Ishizu had schooled him into predicting Yami Marik's next move. With a duck and a roll, Ryou moved away from one of his more difficult attacks: the aerial variety. Yami Marik continued to attack from the air, floating himself upward with his Shadows and dropping abruptly toward Ryou in order to deal out one lucky blow. Ryou kept dodging, remembering that Ishizu had told him that Yami Marik's special ability was to aggravate the duelist into submission, leaving only a feeling of hopelessness before swiping their card. Ryou continued to duck and roll, but the technique was quickly losing strength. Ryou also knew that if he continued to be on the defensive, he'd be exactly where his opponent wanted him to be. In fact, the shadows were swirling around Ryou with fervor, and Ryou understood that if he kept advancing to the center, they would certainly harm him. He grit his teeth and, refusing to duck and roll, struck Yami Marik's sword with his Rod in a loud clash that nearly made him flinch. Yami Marik bore into his eyes.

"Give up yet, weakling?" he asked, a bit miffed. Ryou felt as if Yami Marik had wanted to win as soon as possible, and the fact that Ryou had survived even this long irritated him. The shadows' erratic behavior confirmed his belief as they began swirling and twisting with Yami Marik's aggravated grunts. Ryou's opponent decided to try a different tactic to win, and Ryou stood stock still as Yami Marik suddenly fell into the shadows and became an entity that surrounded Ryou's very soul. Ryou knew that he could come out of any side, and so he focused inward, a cold sweat breaking out as he realized that he couldn't possibly assume where the man had gone.

Ishizu had never told him about this move, quite possibly because the man had never used it on her. Knowing that Ishizu's Millennium Necklace had possibly helped her in this area, Ryou touched it and it suddenly flew off of his neck. Opening his eyes, Ryou saw as the Necklace all but disintegrated, its parts scattering in the shadows and showing the true whereabouts of his adversary. This ultimately allowed Ryou to predict Yami Marik's movements!

Ryou didn't reveal the fact that he knew where his adversary was, but stood stock still until he saw Yami Marik rear for an attack. To his opponent's surprise, Ryou let out a battle cry and met his attack full force, grinning madly as he easily pushed him off. Yami Marik leapt back, dumbfounded at Ryou's ability, when he suddenly narrowed his eyes and jumped into the shadows again. Ryou saw the particles of the fallen Necklace return to his neck again, and he promptly touched it to reenact the previous scenario. A chuckle echoed around him. "So that's your little trick," Yami Marik's voice growled. Ryou saw his form laughing madly in the shadows, and readied himself. Yami Marik promptly flew down from the shadows, but with a sudden twist, nearly met his sword with Ryou's lapel.

Ryou had dodged just in time, but he gave a gasp as he realized that Yami Marik had nicked the cloth right by his Change of Heart card. Yami Marik suddenly jumped farther from Ryou with his shadow jump, and seemed to sink into the ground. Ryou glowered at the spot where he'd disappeared, realizing in his heart that there was no way the Necklace would work against something that was underground. His lips tightened to a thin line as he tried to step on the dark shadow every time it neared. Each time he attempted to do so, however, the shadow seemed to merely bounce back in its vigor and reestablish its task of exhausting Ryou. Ryou suddenly grinned as he realized that the blob could only be dealt with some other form of endless energy.

With a laugh, he touched the Millennium Puzzle and felt his entire demeanor become cheerful and well rested. Ryou was inexhaustible, stepping on the shadow as if it were playing a game with him. Finally, Yami Marik appeared from the ground with a disgruntled look and positively _glared_ at Ryou. "You are taking _forever_ to die, my little champion," he sneered. "But I shall win, no matter what!" Ryou gave a growl in response, but held his stance. Ishizu hadn't revealed any new attacks Yami Marik could pull; it seemed that she'd won before any exhaustive tricks could be played on her. Ryou knew that he wasn't as lucky, and decided to hold a defensive stance until Yami Marik decided to make the first move.

"Do your worst," he sneered. Yami Marik grinned viciously, but didn't reply. Instead, he rose with his shadows and spread his arms, and before Ryou's own eyes, he split into three forms. He gaped as the three forms multiplied, and kept multiplying until the entire arena was filled. He saw a few of the forms attack him, and whirled to attempt to wrestle with them. When he suddenly plunged his sword into one Yami Marik's chest, he let his eyes widen, horrified. He hadn't meant to _kill_ him! The clone, however, disappeared into the shadows, and Ryou realized that he really hadn't done anything. He grit his teeth. All the same, he couldn't risk killing the actual Yami Marik among the clones.

He continued to fight off the clones, thinking rapidly about what Millennium Item he could use against Yami Marik. He grinned when he realized that it would help if he saw the mind of his foe. Without hesitation, Ryou whipped out the Millennium Eye and found that the true Yami Marik was on top of the rest, controlling the others with his mind waves. When he knew that Ryou saw him, he delved into the shadows once more. Ryou frowned as the shadows covered his brain waves, but one touch of the Necklace allowed all to be seen. Yami Marik's brain waves were disintegrating from his clones due to the darkness that interfered, and Ryou ignored all the fakes that ran a sword through his card only to find that they couldn't succeed in doing so. Marik cheered from the sidelines, and the shadows seemed to whip back in revulsion at his cheer. Ryou smiled, however, and offered Marik a thumbs-up. When it was returned, Ryou felt renewed and reenergized.

"When will you come out of hiding, oh great Yami Marik?" he taunted. Yami Marik's brain waves grew angry, but Ryou could see the insecurity that lay within his stance. "It's not like you to take forever. Maybe we should just leave!" Ryou continued. Marik looked at the shadows in foreboding, unable to see what Ryou could see but knowing that Yami Marik's anger was voluminous. He, however, noted that Yami Marik wasn't going to come out anytime soon by the swirling of the shadows. Ryou seemed to realize this as well, and decided to use the Scales to his advantage. Before he could, however, Marik called out to him.

"Ryou! The Scales can only be used once!" he said. "If you believe that you are truly worth more than Yami Marik, and that you are truly pure, then use them! Be _absolutely_ sure!" Ryou stared at Marik for a minute, then smiled. He walked over to Marik, and kissed him full on the mouth. Pulling back, he held Marik with utmost care.

"You want to fight, don't you?" he whispered. Marik gulped, but nodded. With a determined look on his face, Ryou handed him the Scales. "I know that I'm not pure," he said, gesturing to his Change of Heart card. "Half of my heart is selfish; it only wants to win so I can have you." Marik flushed, and glanced down at the Scales. "You, however, are the purest person I've ever met." Marik's head shot up incredulously.

"How can you say that?" he spluttered. "I'm terribly cruel to you half the time!" Ryou laughed.

"I know! You're mean, moody, and doubtful of my abilities all the time!" he replied. "But you have a heart that remains unselfish. You care about yourself, but not to an unreasonable degree." Ryou stroked Marik's heated face. "You have a true sense of justice, and that is just what the Scales are looking for." Marik let out a shaky sigh, but nodded.

"Whatever you say," he said determinedly. He lifted the Scales, and they suddenly engulfed him in a golden light. Ryou watched-half fearful, half sure-as the light seemed to assess Marik's worthiness. With a sudden flash, Marik dropped to the ground. Ryou gave a cry in utmost distress, but Marik rose shakily, and to Ryou's endless relief, wielded a sword akin to Ryou's own Rod. Marik grinned. "C'mon, Ryou! Let's beat my sorry-ass brother!" Ryou nodded jubilantly. Marik turned to the shocked shadows. "I believe that the terms of the Scales is this, brother! I am only here for a short amount of time, but if you do not strike me, the Duel is forfeited to Ryou!" The shadows recoiled, and Ryou's Necklace showed that Yami Marik was about to attack. He quickly moved in front of Marik just as the monster put his sword out, and Marik gave a yelp.

"Marik! I need you to stay behind me!" Ryou cried. Marik stared at him, debating, but Yami Marik suddenly dodged Ryou and attempted to attack him. He gave a scream, but Ryou quickly yanked Yami Marik's cloak from behind him before he could lay a finger on Marik. "MARIK! Please get behind me!" Marik complied immediately, knowing that if he was struck down so early in the Duel, he would forfeit the match to Yami Marik. Ryou furiously slashed swords with Yami Marik, barely registering the fact that he was gaining ground due to his concentration on protecting Marik. Yami Marik glowered at him, then suddenly knocked Ryou's sword out of his way. He grinned menacingly as he overpowered Ryou. Ryou gave an exhausted grunt as he was pushed back.

Marik suddenly gave a furious growl and met his Scales with the swords, pushing alongside Ryou and overpowering Yami Marik. Ryou gave a sudden roar and positively charged against Yami Marik. Yami Marik evaded just in time, but he was winded and exhausted. With his last burst of energy, he lifted his sword and dashed like a speeding bullet towards Marik, sword outstretched. Marik gave a small cry as Yami Marik neared. Ryou knew that he wouldn't make it in time to deflect the attack, so he did the only thing he could at the moment.

He pushed Marik aside and took the blow himself. As the sword ran through his stomach, he realized dimly that it was the Key, with the ability to register emotions and intentions. It dissolved immediately, as if knowing that Ryou's intentions were selfless at that moment in time, but the damage was already done. Marik screamed his name as he slid to the ground, bleeding profusely. Yami Marik cackled, then laughed with fervor. Marik shook his head repeatedly, holding Ryou's head. He kissed Ryou again and again, whispering words of love even as the boy breathed his last breath.

"Don't leave me!" he sobbed. "You can't die, not now!" Ryou gave him a bloody grin.

"Who's leaving?" he croaked. "I'm not dying, Marik." Marik stared at him with hope filling his eyes. Ryou slowly reached to his chest, where the Ring still hung. The Ring suddenly disappeared, along with Ryou's wound. Marik's eyes widened alongside Yami Marik's as Ryou slowly stood. With a flash, Ryou's sword cut through Yami Marik's Dark Hole card and left it fluttering in two pieces below. Yami Marik slowly sank to his knees, still staring at Ryou. Ryou returned his stare harshly. "_You_ were the prince who gave me the Ring so long ago. It has not forgotten your act of generosity, nor has it forgotten that I am its true master." Yami Marik and Marik watched in awe as all the Millennium Items seemed to dissolve. "You went against your own wish, one that the Ring granted, to protect me. I had used every defense in the form of the Millennium Items, and the Ring would only work as a last resort. But I win. The game is over. Go away. Stay away from Marik for as long as you live." Marik felt himself rise as his white light chased away the shadows. His suit disappeared, leaving him in his schoolboy finery. "Marik is no longer the Rose Groom. He is…he is who he wishes to be." With a soft gasp, Marik fell and Ryou caught him. Kissing his unconscious lover's forehead once, he looked back to where Yami Marik was to find that he'd disappeared. "Good riddance," he scoffed, and with a gentle smile, walked away from the arena.

"I'll miss you so much, Ryou!" Téa sobbed, clinging to him with all that she had. Yugi and Marik looked on jealously behind her until Marik, as the less reserved of the two, stepped forward and pried her off.

"He'll visit once in a while," he grumbled, hugging Ryou to himself. Ryou blushed uncomfortably, but Téa, oblivious to the hostile atmosphere, began cooing.

"Aw! Aren't they cute, Yugi?" she squealed. Yugi laughed and slung his own arm around her waist.

"Of course they are. But not as cute as you," he said tenderly. Téa flushed, and quickly leant down to give Yugi a peck on the lips before hugging him to her.

"Oh thank goodness _you're_ not leaving, Yugi! I don't know what I would do without you!" she replied cheerily. Then, noticing the other two bystanders looking at her awkwardly, she cleared her throat and straightened embarrassedly. "Um, weren't you two leaving?" she asked. Ryou and Marik laughed, and Ryou placed their final shared suitcase onto the car. After the duel, the Millennium Items had disappeared with Yami Marik into what Marik called "The Shadow Realm." Ryou's card had disappeared as well, but Marik had grinned and said that it had become an intrinsic part of him. Ryou shrugged and grinned, allowing Marik to provide any explanations, truthful or untruthful, to his savvy. His only concern was that Marik had accepted his invitation to tour the world after they were done with high school, as Ryou had obtained a college education program requiring extensive abroad trips. Marik applied for and had gotten accepted into the same program, and the two had immediately begun packing. Téa and Yugi, who were going to New York to teach dancing and dueling, respectively, had forced the pair to promise to visit whenever they could.

"Ryou? Ryou! Get into the car!" Marik snapped. "Don't tell me that you're backing out now!" Ryou grinned lazily as he scooted to the passenger seat.

"Maybe we should buy a house right next to the school…" he drawled. "And stay there for the next few years." Marik raised an eyebrow all while narrowing his eyes.

"There's no way in hell I'm going to stay next to that crappy place," he snarled. "I already had to wait four years until you were done with your education, and I had to wait about a century before _that_ for my Prince to come because I was too weak to face Yami Marik alone!" Ryou leaned back slowly as Marik leaned over him menacingly. "Now that you're here, I intend to see how much I've missed while the world has changed through time, and you're coming with me whether you like it or not!" Ryou smiled and leaned into his former position, kissing Marik on the nose as he did so.

"Love you, too, partner," he chuckled.

**(A/N): **How was that? It took an entire day to write even the first few pages, but then I got on a roll and ended up belting this entire thing out in time for my self-imposed deadline! *Sighs* never again...

If there's anything I have to fix or anything that seems too odd or too inappropriate, don't hesitate to tell me (nicely, of course) and I'll change it! Also, I still need suggestions for the last few letters of the alphabet. Thanks to LazyGaga and AllenWalker4Ever for reviewing!


	7. Ghastly

**(A/N): **Sorry I'm late! This chapter just did not want to be written. It was like I was trying to extract a tooth or something!

At any rate, this chapter is almost as enormous as the other one. Ugh, I hope this long-chapter streak doesn't run on forever...my fingers are cramping!

Thanks again to Lazy Gaga for reviewing!

**Warnings:** This isn't a high T, per se, but it's still a T. That means there is boy on boy luff and affection. No limes or anything, unless making out counts as a lime. Then again, it's not detailed or anything so don't worry!

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><p>Ghastly<p>

"Ryou, carry my things."

That was what Ryou had been told every day since two months ago, first thing in the morning. No "thank-you", no "please", a direct order. The fact that Marik was supposed to be a kind, loving boyfriend made everything worse. Ryou _knew_ that Marik was a sweet guy, but confound it all, he was just so damn _controlling_ nowadays! It was as if the three years they'd been dating had been eradicated and now Marik wanted a slave instead of a boyfriend.

Today was no different. Yugi sent Ryou an awkward "hello" as they passed, glancing at Marik for a good measure, then back at Ryou as if to say "what in the world are you still dating _him_ for?" Ryou himself didn't know. Everyday, he and Marik underwent the same dominant-subordinate role routine, and the worst part was that it was the same in private as it was in public. As Joey and Tristan passed, looking at Ryou pityingly, Ryou noted that Marik looked indifferent. He seemed to be satisfied with being in control, whether the public eye shared his views or not.

Ryou sighed and followed Marik through his classes. When the teachers asked the students to sit down in each class, Ryou waited until Marik sat down before taking a seat himself. Marik had always thrown somewhat of a fit when the opposite happened, and Ryou found that he simply didn't want to deal with it after three weeks of the torture. After class, Ryou would stand after Marik stood. Marik had grumbled something about being first in everything, and Ryou had just shut up and complied. Marik's tantrums were a force to be reckoned with, and despite his rudeness, Ryou was content to just stay with him through it all. After all, Marik was living alone. His sister and his adopted brother opted to stay in Egypt, whereas he'd wanted to stay in Domino because he was far more fluent in Japanese than he was in Arabic. The weight of balancing work with school when he was the only one providing the income was understandable; Ryou was just glad Marik didn't force _him_ to work for his sake.

"Take out your textbooks and turn to page fifty-one," the teacher droned. The students all seemed to sigh as they flipped the pages. Today was Tuesday, not quite a celebratory day in everyone's books. Ryou handed Marik his bag, and Marik took out a book before returning it to him. Ryou brought out his own book, glumly avoiding all the curious and disapproving stares his classmates sent his and Marik's way. He sighed. It was time for a change, and he was the only one who was bound to bring it.

* * *

><p>It was next Monday when Ryou decided to put his plan into action. He'd taken all weekend thinking up a way to show Marik that he was not a plaything, and today, he was implementing it. Ignoring the problem wouldn't work, nor would assertion. Ryou had planned an all-out aggressive plan that would <em>make<em> Marik fall to him while, at the same time, keep him as his boyfriend. After all, he thought sardonically, Marik wasn't the only one who was strong. Ryou's mischievous expression only heightened when he reached Marik's house. The first step of the plan was approaching…

He walked straight by Marik's house without alerting its inhabitant. It wasn't the best plan, but it was sure to get Marik late to class. Ryou snickered. This was only the first of a series of horrible events that he'd planned. He merrily walked to school, his confidence and Marik's absence making the kids around him look on confusedly, some even with pride. They all thought that Ryou had broken up with Marik, but Ryou only tilted his chin up. They didn't know a damn thing.

True to Ryou's prediction, Marik showed up red-faced and huffing through the middle of the period. When he glared at Ryou, Ryou only smirked back. Marik's expression showed the slightest hint of shock, but he resumed his glare and mumbled an apology to his teacher about being late. Ryou closed his eyes and tilted his chair back languidly, raking his eyes over Marik's body. Marik openly blushed when Ryou focused on his butt, sitting down immediately and folding his arms.

"What's gotten into you?" he sneered. "Here, carry my bag."

"Like hell," Ryou scoffed. "If you haven't noticed, I'm sick of carrying your crap. I thought it was already apparent by the way I left you at home." The caustic bitterness of Ryou's tone had Marik taken aback. He gaped like a fish for a few moments before turning to the book in front of him and stewing. Ryou rolled his eyes at Marik's immaturity, but continued to read the assigned pages.

After the class, Marik went to his locker and slammed it. Despite its force, it wouldn't open. Ryou walked past with a mocking grin.

"Can't open the locker, eh?" he laughed. "You idiot. Way to not know your own combination." It was true. Ryou had always coded in the combination of all of Marik's locks, and Marik, apparently, hadn't even bothered to memorize them. Marik glowered at him, then turned away and headed to the school office. Ryou followed him immediately, grinning at all the ways he could make Marik's life a living hell. "Oho, you're giving me the silent treatment? Well, I'll have you know that I have plenty to talk about, and you can only listen since you're pretending to utterly ignore me." Marik tried to keep his poker face, but a slight scrunching of his eyebrows gave Ryou all the initiative he needed. "You really don't know anything, do you? I pretty much wipe your ass! I wonder, Marik, how long would this continue? Would you be too lazy to even chew your food? Would you need me to cough it back up just to have your life in order?"

"Just shut up!" Marik roared. "You have no idea how hard it is!"

"You know, I used to think that, too. I mean, I still have a dad who loves me, so why should I complain? Then I realized that you still don't have the right to treat me like a slave! You can deal with all the crap I'm giving you; it's only what you deserve."

"Fuck off, Ryou! I don't need this!" Marik snapped. "I pay for my own keep, so of course my life's harder than yours! So what if I ask you for help some of the time?" Ryou smiled and shook his head.

"I'm not your father, Marik, nor am I your brother. If you have issues such as getting the laundry done, I think you can take care of it yourself. You can spare two minutes to put it in the wash!"

"I sometimes don't find the time!"

"So it's my problem? You don't do SHIT!" Ryou snapped. Students stared at them in shock, and Marik was speechless towards Ryou's vehemence. "I even fucking balance your taxes sometimes! It's not my job to have your job!" Marik was speechless, and without a word, dashed off to the office with a face of humiliation. Students began cheering loudly for Ryou, who felt very good about himself, while booing Marik, who snapped for them all to "shut up". Marik got his combination and made his way past the booing crowd and Ryou with a look of distaste, swiftly rushing towards his locker, getting out his things, and running to his next class. Ryou smirked, and went to his own class.

After school, Ryou caught up with Marik and cackled.

"That was great!" he laughed. "Well, we know whose side the school's on!"

"Ryou, I feel like shit. Shut the hell up and let me walk in peace!" Marik glowered. Ryou grinned back.

"Aw, is someone jealous that I have all the favor and you have nada?" he asked in a child's voice. "You should be more considerate. I'm teaching you a lesson!" Marik glared at him and clenched his bag tightly.

"I don't know what's gotten into you, or why you hate me so much for things that you submitted to in the first place, but you won't break me," he hissed. To his surprise, Ryou followed him up to his front porch. Ryou stood, arms folded, and smirked at Marik.

"I know you're behind on your mortgage," he taunted. "I have a proposal." Marik looked at him with anger in his eyes, and Ryou's eyes filled with mirth as he realized that Marik was probably regretting his decision to allow Ryou to balance his taxes. "If you let me sleep in your house, I'll pay for half of it. My dad sends a check every week, and my apartment's kinda shitty. Let me move in, and you can stay out of homelessness." Marik snarled.

"No. Fucking. Way," he hissed. Ryou grinned darkly, and Marik felt his terror grow. Ryou suddenly put one hand on either side of Marik's head, leaning against the door as if he were doing a vertical push-up toward Marik's face. He neared and smelled Marik's scent, making the other man shiver. He lightly bit Marik's neck, causing Marik to gasp and attempt to push him away.

"Let me live here," Ryou growled. "Or I will break in and sleep here, as well as not pay for anything." Marik's eyes widened in anger, and he tried harder to push Ryou off. "You don't understand, Marik," Ryou continued. "I'm stronger than I look, and certainly stronger than you. All you have to do is say yes, and I won't give you a broken window that I certainly won't fix."

"No!" Marik screamed, thrashing. "Just go away! LEAVE ME ALONE!" Ryou pushed off and grinned.

"Suit yourself, love," he sighed in mock-despondence. "Just don't say I didn't warn you." He walked to his apartment, noticing the frightened glance Marik left him with. Finally, Ryou reached his apartment and picked up a baseball bat. With a grin, he started packing everything up so that he could move in.

* * *

><p>The next day was Tuesday, and Marik woke up at three in the morning to a crash. He'd done his homework up until three o'clock, having no Ryou to help him as he usually did, and so was too tired to investigate. Falling asleep once more, he didn't notice the shuffling in the other room, nor the sinking of the bed when another body lay across it. An arm looped around his waist, but Marik didn't stir. Instead, Marik cuddled to the figure, grateful for the newfound warmth that the broken window had taken away. The figure, Ryou, sighed to himself and began to think about his cruelty. It was apparent that Marik hadn't learned his lesson; Marik didn't realize that Ryou was only doing to him what he'd been doing to Ryou. Except, Ryou thought bitterly, openly embarrassing him in public. Ryou had done that all on his own account.<p>

With a surge of guilt, Ryou kissed the top of Marik's head and rubbed his arms up and down his shoulders. Marik let out a contented noise as Ryou reached around to his scarred back and massaged his bunched up muscles. Marik gasped as Ryou's hands caused him to arch, and he quickly wrapped his arms around his torso. Frowning, Ryou reached in front of him and pulled up his shirt. He gasped when he saw purple bruises dotting the expanse of skin. After a moment of shock, Ryou took a deep breath and decided to ignore the bruises _It was probably his own fault anyway_, he decided. Ryou fell asleep to Marik's even breathing.

When Marik woke up, he screamed and pushed himself away from Ryou. The white-haired individual woke up immediately and looked around for the source of distress, but then noticed that he was in Marik's room and that Marik was clutching his heart while glaring at him. Ryou could only grin demonically, putting aside his guilt at Marik's stomach in favor of furthering his plan.

"Time to go to school, eh, Marik?" he said happily. "Are you always this eager when getting up?" Marik hissed at him in annoyance, approaching the bed in a threatening manner.

"I don't know what you're doing here, but get the fuck out and make breakfast!" he growled. "I had the crappiest nightmare last night-" Marik was cut off before he could utter anything else, as Ryou had thrown a pillow in his direction. He huffed as he walked to his closet, changing into his things. Across the door, Ryou proceeded to do the same, all while ranting.

"If you think for one minute that I'm going to do as you ask, you're in for a hellish day," Ryou said angrily. "_You're_ making _my_ breakfast this time. I might have considered your offer if you'd said it nicely, but forget it!" When Marik changed and got out of the closet, Ryou quickly got up and advanced on him, making Marik shrink back. "I want bacon and eggs. I know you're a fucking vegetarian, but I restocked the fridge with my shit last night." Marik turned pale as Ryou came to a halt right in front of his face. "Get to it!" he barked. Marik hesitated, and Ryou growled.

"I…I don't know how to cook meat," Marik murmured in repressed anger. Ryou was thrown off, but somewhat understood. He allowed some of his guilt to resurface; Marik had forced him to make breakfast, but he'd done it on the first request. Marik hadn't threatened him, and Ryou relented some of his control.

"Fine, I'll make the bacon. You make the eggs," he said. Marik glowered at him.

"Why were you sleeping on my bed?" he asked, fuming. Ryou grinned lazily, placing a hand on either side of Marik's face in a similar fashion as that which he'd done before.

"I warned you that I would break in and not pay for any damage I caused," he laughed. Marik's eyes went wide, and he looked around his room. "No, nothing terrible in this room. But, I must say, your kitchen window will need some repairs."

"Wh-what?" Marik asked in horror. He rushed toward the kitchen, and sank to the ground when he saw the shards of glass in the sink and the floor. He felt his heart beat with worry and depression, not even noticing the fact that his boyfriend was watching his moment of vulnerability. "Oh my Ra, how am I going to pay for this?" he thought silently, his throat constricted. "My thermostat!" he suddenly screeched. The cold air from the open window had kept his house at a low temperature and his air conditioning had been turned onto overtime. Racing towards the thermometer, he found with a sinking heart that the air conditioning was on, and its meager efforts to restore the temperature had been in vain. Marik paled, turned off the air conditioning, and slumped. Ryou felt confused as to why Marik was so discouraged. Sure, the window needed fixing, but that hadn't been a problem for Ryou the day some boys accidentally had thrown a baseball at his apartment. His housing insurance had…covered…it…

"Marik?" he asked, his eyes widening in realization. "Are…are you behind on your insurance as well?" Marik suddenly snapped his head towards Ryou, and the glare on his face was murderous.

"You want your eggs, eh?" he sneered. "I'll make your fucking _eggs_!" He grabbed a pan and opened the fridge with immense ferocity. Yanking the egg carton out, he slammed it on the counter and took three broken eggs from it. Crashing the pan onto the stove, he turned the gas on high and took out a bowl from the above cupboard. Ryou watched, amazed, as Marik proceeded to make scrambled eggs with angry jerks and collisions. He marveled at how small the kitchen was; Marik didn't move from his spot, and he still could reach everything.

"Here, let me help you-"

"Oh _no_," Marik said with too much sweetness. "_I'll_ handle this!" He brought out the bacon, skimming the instructions before placing another pan on the stove, buttering it, and tossing the strips onto it. Ryou didn't miss his look of revulsion, but it was clear that Marik wasn't allowing any interference. He watched silently as Marik set the table and plopped the food onto the plates, filling two glasses of Ryou's favorite orange juice straight after. "Eat!" he shouted at him, and Ryou started. Marik pushed a chair out, gesturing Ryou to sit in it. Ryou did sit, and Marik sat after him slowly, mindful of his stomach. Marik shoveled eggs in his mouth as if he hadn't eaten in years, and Ryou tentatively took a bite. The eggs were delicious, but what Ryou was most concerned about was Marik's stillness. After eating, Marik had sat still, staring out the window with a blank expression. Ryou glanced at the clock, panicked slightly, and finished what he had of eggs and bacon. Getting up, he noticed that Marik only started to get up slowly after he did. With annoyance, particularly at Marik's behavior, Ryou packed his bag and left for school without another word. At least, that was his plan before Marik took hold of his bag for him. "I _insist_," he snarled.

"Give me my bag, Marik," Ryou said crossly.

"I only want to help," Marik replied. Ryou stared at him, hand outstretched, before Marik suddenly gave him his bag and threw his hands in the air. "FINE! Have it your way!" he yelled, throwing open the door and rushing off to school. Ryou watched after him, stunned, but grasped his bag tightly and hurried after.

"Hey, let me carry our bags. Why don't you just drive your motorcycle to school?" Ryou huffed. Marik rolled his eyes.

"I don't want to waste gas, loser," he replied with a growl. Marik dashed off before Ryou could bat an eye, but Ryou kept pace with him, knowing that the heavy lifting and carrying of Marik's bags had aided in his pace strength. He managed to wrestle Marik's bags out of his arms, as Marik had avoided his stomach at all costs. Marik huffed, but couldn't do any more than that.

The school was all giggling at Marik by the time he arrived, and Ryou received some high-fives. Yugi said "hi" to him enthusiastically, but Téa stood stoically beside him. Ryou looked at her with confusion, and she suddenly looked toward Marik. Ryou's boyfriend was departing fast, ignoring the jeers headed his way with his head held high. He followed after him, as they had the same period. At the class, Marik waited for Ryou to sit down before he followed suit, sending Ryou vile glares as much as he could. Ryou rolled his eyes, but faced forward. It seemed, today, that Marik was bent on making his own day horrible.

School proceeded much the same way. At the cafeteria, Marik realized that he'd forgotten to make his lunch in the morning rush.

"Here, you can have some of mine," Ryou grunted reluctantly, having made his lunch before he fell asleep. Marik shook his head, however, and angrily scratched at a spot of food on the table. Ryou shrugged and ate his sandwich, offering some of it to Marik only when he heard his stomach growl. Marik refused again, blushing at his stomach's loudness, and continued to stare at the table.

When school finally ended, Ryou and Marik walked home, and Marik suddenly burst his floodgates.

"You're so infuriating!" he screamed. "Why must everything be _your_ way? I hate having to slave around!" Ryou matched his fury with his own.

"You've been doing this to me for the last two months! It totally undermines the fact that we'd been dating for three years!" he snarled. "And you can't handle _one week_ of this ghastly treatment?" Marik's expression grew to one of surprise.

"Wait, you mean this hell will only last a week?" he laughed. "That's a piece of cake!" Ryou glowered at him, realizing that he'd just given him a deadline. A demonic grin then crossed his face.

"You act like I can't extend it," Ryou hissed. "A month, perhaps? A year?" Marik flinched slightly, then looked at Ryou with reproach. When they reached his house, he unlocked the door and ushered Ryou in with a glare. Ryou smiled smugly and walked in. Who knew that Marik's cooperation was a matter of intimidation?

At five o'clock, Ryou watched as Marik tried to finish his homework with little results. Marik had taped a garbage bag on the window, then layered with a few more garbage bags until he was satisfied with it. As he worked on his homework, he groaned, frustrated, and set his pencil down. Standing up from his desk wearily, he glanced at the clock and promptly panicked. Ryou watched, amused, as he frantically dressed in what looked like a waiter's uniform and grabbed his keys, not noticing that he was giving Ryou a spectacular view of his body. Ryou grinned to himself as he slipped off into a daydream, only snapping out of it when Marik slammed the door on his way out. Ryou quirked his eyebrow, wondering just how demanding Marik's job was, before deciding it was none of his business, proceeding to finish his homework.

At night, Ryou heard Marik give a moan of frustration, then the sound of pencil on paper. He lay awake as his boyfriend finished his homework, and glanced at the clock. Marik had come home at eleven o'clock at night, a time even Ryou couldn't fathom. Marik cursed and toiled, but Ryou caught more than one yawn coming from his mouth, and more than one massage to his stomach. At last, after four hours, Marik stumbled into the room. He met his eyes with Ryou, seeming to finally realize that he was living here. With a small curse, he went to his closet and changed his clothes, coming out in pajamas. Marik approached the bed, then decided against it and went outside the room. Ryou uncovered the blanket and followed him, watching as he sprawled on the couch and fell dead asleep instantly. With a sigh, Ryou waited a few moments before gently looping an arm under Marik's back, mindful of his stomach injury, and another arm under his legs. He carried Marik into his room. He laid him down and lay beside him.

"Maybe I'll go easy on him today…nah," Ryou murmured as he fell asleep, remembering the days when Marik wouldn't hesitate to call him a "bastard" because his father was always gone, disregarding the fact that this statement applied to himself as well.

* * *

><p>The next day, Marik was utterly silent. He cooked breakfast for Ryou without a word, and Ryou softly reminded him that he had to pack his lunch. Marik nodded quietly, robotically shoving a bunch of energy bars into his lunchbox and preparing some coffee. Ryou frowned at his sluggishness; Marik had only gotten four hours of sleep last night due to his job. Ryou let him walk in silence, not wanting to torture him further when he'd already had a hellish night.<p>

It seemed Ryou's decision was right. The students continued to give Marik smug glances, but neither Marik nor Ryou responded. Marik sat after Ryou, dutifully, and Ryou couldn't find an error in Marik's behavior. Marik hardly seemed to register; he was prone to dozing off often. When the class ended, the teacher asked to see Marik privately. Ryou jostled him awake rather harshly, and Marik nodded dumbly before proceeding to the front desk. The teacher watched Ryou impassively, then reiterated that her audience with Marik was to be private. The two students exchanged a glance, and Marik nodded. Ryou left. He went to his next class, and found that he couldn't stop thinking of Marik the entire time.

At lunch, Ryou still didn't see Marik. He looked around despondently, hoping to catch a glance of the jewelry-encrusted student who would have stuck out like a sore thumb among the less…shiny peers. A pair of pink-socked shoes appeared in his view, and Ryou looked up to see the worried face of Téa.

"Hey, Ryou, is Marik alright? My teacher asked to see him after class, and Tristan told me that your teacher did the same in your class," she said. Ryou scrunched his eyebrows, confused, but then saw Marik come into the cafeteria.

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" he suggested, and snapped his fingers rudely to gesture Marik over.

"Hi…" Marik yawned. "I'm…going to catch up on sleep." He all but collapsed onto the table, and in minutes he was snoring lightly. Téa stared at him, her worry increasing.

"He's just tired," Ryou snorted. "He had to go to his job last night, and it took him forever to get his homework done." Téa nodded, then uttered a farewell before walking to her friends, glancing back continuously. Ryou glanced at Marik somewhat curiously. It wasn't normal of Marik to act this way; he was usually vibrant with energy. Ryou sighed and massaged his temples in the familiar way he'd learned to do whenever Marik's punishment seemed to be too much. When the cafeteria bell rang, Ryou shook Marik's shoulder and Marik blearily got up, making his way to his next class.

After school, as they were walking home, Ryou and Marik's stomachs both erupted in loud protests. Taking Ryou's bag off, Marik pulled out two sandwiches and handed one to Ryou before devouring his own. Ryou devoured his in a less desperate manner, but he was hungry nonetheless. He'd forgotten to eat lunch in the cafeteria while he'd waited for Marik to appear.

"Didn't have breakfast," Marik grumbled mid-bite. "So stupid." Ryou looked at him in shock, realizing that this was the first time he'd heard him speak.

"Let's go home," he said. "You can make some salad." Marik straightened and shook his head.

"Nah, I'm fine," he said softly. "Gotta do my…homework." Ryou watched as Marik trudged on home, following suit only when Marik stopped and glanced back.

At their house Ryou all but commanded Marik to make a salad, despite Marik's wishes. Marik, however, didn't put up much of a fight and made the salad, eating it in slow bites and staring at the history worksheet in front of him with confusion. When Ryou pushed the salad in front of him to remind him that he needed to finish it, he quietly thanked him and ate. Ryou suddenly frowned and pulled Marik into his lap. He grabbed the fork and fed him, and Marik merely looked on curiously. Ryou helped him finish the salad, then laid him on the couch. Marik allowed him, evidence of his exhaustion.

"I'll do your homework for you," Ryou sighed. Marik closed his eyes, but shook his head. "Marik, I'm not taking no for an answer."

"The teachers are suspicious. They say that they know I'm copying your homework, and I told them that you were innocent. Even the teachers who don't have you know," he explained, yawning several times. Ryou clenched his teeth.

"I'll take your shift."

"My boss will see the difference, stupid."

"I'll stay up and help you."

"So we both can suffer? This week is supposed to be hell for me. Take this blessing and move on." Ryou looked at him in shock.

"I did not intend for you to have a week of hell. Despite what you may think, I love you."

"Hn. What the hell is this for, then?"

"I wanted to show you what I went through when you treated me like I treated you," Ryou explained, clenching his teeth with anger at Marik's belief that he'd only been doing this for revenge. "Already it's backfiring. I hate to see you like this."

"It'll be over before you know it," was all Marik offered in reply. "Wake me up as soon as it's five o'clock." Ryou nodded, and Marik fell asleep. Without a word, Ryou rested his head onto the couch cushions and dialed the number to Marik's workplace.

"Hello?" a gravelly voice came from the other line. "Ishtar? You ain't runnin' late again, are you?"

"This is Marik's boyfriend. He's out sick and can't make it," Ryou explained. Laughter was heard on the other line.

"Was it him that decided that, or you?" the voice asked. Ryou's frown deepened.

"Marik told me that he had three sick days," he stated, remembering a time before the week had begun when the conversations between him and Marik had consisted of one-sided boastful claims.

"Yeah, one for each of the next three years of his contract," the voice replied. Ryou's eyebrows shot up, and the voice laughed at the shocked pause on the other line. "I'll be expecting him at five-thirty. If you sue, I'll have you know that no one else will offer your little boyfriend a job at his age." With that, the phone went dead. Ryou stared at it for a full five minutes, anger broiling within him. Marik was subject to _this_ five days of every week? How could he stand it? Ryou put the phone down and stared at his boyfriend. He felt his brows knit with resolve, and he walked to his and Marik's room and dug out his father's check. He'd already told his father about his address change over the phone, and his father had complied. Now, Ryou decided, was the time where he moved to the next step and took care of the house the way Marik did. Ryou rummaged through Marik's mail, noticing immediately that there were urgent bills to be paid. With a smirk, he dropped the check onto the one regarding his air conditioning. There was a considerable amount Marik would have to pay additionally, but now he would have to pay two hundred dollars less. Ryou smirked and licked the envelope shut, then set it aside. He focused on the next bills, sorted through junk mail, and wrote to his father about how things were faring.

"You'll see Marik," Ryou said determinedly. "Tomorrow, you'll have much less housework to worry about, and more Ryou-bitching to worry about."

* * *

><p>Marik was tired the next day, as he had pulled an all-nighter. He, however, was embittered to the point of ridiculousness, and despite treating Ryou with respect, he came to despise everyone else that day.<p>

"You'd think that they'd realize that the new P.E. teacher is a bad example to the kids himself, but _no_!" he snapped as they walked to school. "We have to run around in circles while he binges on fast food and complains about bad haircuts!" Ryou rolled his eyes at him.

"You act as if _you_ didn't insult my hair everyday before this week," he snorted. "And you should appreciate the fact that he eats so much. It probably helps your business."

"I do not work at a restaurant that serves the likes of _him_!" Marik said indignantly, yawning straight afterward. Ryou rolled is eyes.

"All the same-" and the argument continued on until they reached school. There, Ryou noticed that though the students weren't hassling Marik, Marik was glaring at them steadily as if he expected to be insulted at some point. As they entered the classroom, their teacher stared at them with suspicion in her eyes.

"Let's see your homework, Ishtar," she said gravely. Marik pulled out his homework and set it on her desk. As she perused it, her eyes widened. "What is this? 'The history of Spain dates back to Ryou's ass looks nice in shorts?'" The entire class started laughing, and Marik turned beet red. Snatching the paper, his eyes widened as he read just what the teacher had said. Ryou shifted uncomfortably, but Marik spared no pity. He whirled to the class and held out his paper.

"You all think this is funny? Well, _I_ don't think so! I've been through hell this entire week because of my own stupidity, and you guys can spare some pity after knowing that I had no sleep last night! None! And why? BECAUSE I'VE BEEN DOING THIS STUPID HOMEWORK!" He threw the paper onto the floor and cried out in frustration before dashing out of the class. Ryou started after him, but the teacher stopped him.

"I doubt Marik's coming back, Ryou," she sighed. "Please take your seat before another scene occurs." Ryou suddenly felt his vision growing red as the students began to mutter about Marik's departure, some even going so far as to say he was crazy.

"I don't think any of you understand." His low tone stopped the entire class, and Tristan looked at him in confusion.

"What're you talking about, Ryou? We'd thought you'd be happy that your oppressor was out of the class," he asked, confused. Ryou looked at him, eyes flashing dangerously.

"Marik has a job. He works from five-thirty to eleven on all weekdays except Monday and including Saturday, being paid just enough to squeak by on his mortgage. He often doesn't understand his homework, so I had helped him before the teachers said that my help was basically copying. He still stayed strong, despite it all, and now he doesn't get any sleep, save for the meager two-hour naps filled with tension straight after school. I never knew that he had it so hard…" Ryou looked out to the window, seeing the trees and sky as if he could somehow look past and see Marik himself. "But yesterday, I looked through his bills and saw that his house costs much more than I'd imagined as an apartment dweller…" He returned his gaze to the class. "I wouldn't blame him for thinking my ass is cute when he doesn't have the sleep to differentiate his thoughts," he snapped. "I deserve to treat him like crap because I'm trying to teach him a lesson. _You guys_, however, are just being asses who think he's cruel because of the things he said to _me_!" The students shrunk, but Tristan stood straight and nodded at him. Ryou walked to his seat and relaxed, looking into the guilt-ridden face of his teacher, despite the disrespect he'd given the entire class.

"It's time we did something about this," she finally said. "Students, I want you to help Marik in any way you can, and help Ryou spread the word about Marik's plight. It seems that Marik had a reason for being as difficult as he was to Ryou, and I want to eradicate it as much as possible." Most of the students nodded, while only a seldom few looked unsure. Tristan offered Ryou a thumbs up, and slowly, the classroom became abuzz with ideas. Ryou smiled with hope filling him. They would help Marik, come hell or high water!

* * *

><p>It was Friday, and Ryou declared that it was his final day of Marik-torment. Marik asked him why on the other side of the closet door, finally well rested due to his little excursion from school.<p>

"Because I think you learned your lesson. And even if you didn't, I learned mine," Ryou sighed. He didn't hear the closet open, but he did feel Marik wrap his arms around him.

"I learned my lesson," Marik said seriously. "And I'm sorry." Ryou smiled at him, then gave a demonic grin and bit Marik's nose. Marik flushed deeply, staring at him while touching his nose as if in wonder.

"Go get changed, please," Ryou grinned. "I'll make this day pure _torture_ for you."

Indeed, whenever Ryou thought no one was watching, he would brush a kiss on Marik's neck or grope his backside purposefully. Téa would shoot them disapproving looks, but Ryou would stick his tongue out at her as if she were only jealous that she wasn't receiving the same attention that Marik was receiving. Yugi merely rolled his eyes for a good measure, but smiled as Marik flushed and reacted healthier in general to Ryou's advances.

"Ryou, stop it!" Marik hissed as Ryou nibbled on his neck. "We're in front of _everybody_!" Ryou only rolled his eyes.

"One thing I hated about our relationship was the lack of freedom!" he whispered back. "Can't I even do _this_-" he roved his hands over Marik's chest under his midriff shirt, causing Marik to release a desperate moan "-without being ridiculed?" Marik yanked Ryou's hands out and stared at him, mouth agape.

"Are you fucking kidding? Of course you can't!" he practically screamed. "We're not married or anything!" Ryou pouted.

"I could propose to you right now," he said lightly. Marik sneered at him.

"No. I'm not allowing you to feel me up until we're sure of our feelings," he announced. Ryou suddenly hissed and grabbed his hand. He dragged Marik to the restrooms, ignoring the sounds of protests the other man made.

"Fine," he whispered close to Marik's ear. "But I still think we're pretty committed. I want our relationship to be closer than just walking within a foot from each other." Marik looked down with a blush on his face.

"What are you going at?" he said shyly. Ryou grinned, and leaned forward.

"I'm glad you asked," he growled, pecking Marik's lips. "We've already moved in together, we already sleep in the same bed…" Marik pouted slightly at this. "We're about to go to college, and you've got a career already. What's the issue?" Marik looked at him sadly, returning the peck on the lips with one of his own.

"I want you to feel me up, Ryou. Hell, I dreamt of _more_ than that. I just…I don't know if we can stay together when my funds are so rocky and when my future looks so bleak. I don't think that our relationship will…last," Marik said weakly, turning away. "Especially since I've been nothing short of an ass to you for the past two months." Ryou sighed, but smiled straight afterwards.

"I understand," he repeated. "But I'm going to help you in whatever way I can."

"Even so…" Marik said doubtfully. Ryou furrowed his brows and placed a finger on Marik's lip.

"We will win," he said resolutely. "We will get through this. For now, let's concentrate on surviving Friday, and then focus on being on the same side again," he suggested. Marik smiled, then nodded. His worry still shone in his eyes, but he allowed himself to trust Ryou's judgment. They made it out of the bathroom and into their classroom closer than before, with Marik kissing Ryou's cheek just before the lecture started.

After school, Téa and Yugi suddenly escorted Marik and Ryou home from school.

"We're here to help Marik," Téa explained when Ryou asked.

"Um…what? I don't need any help," Marik replied awkwardly. Téa sighed exasperatedly and planted her hands on her hips.

"Don't be stupid! Of course you do, you work at Burger World!" she exclaimed. Yugi and Ryou looked at her confusedly, and she gaped at them "You mean you guys don't know?"

"Don't know _what_?" Ryou snapped, glaring at Marik.

"Téa…" Marik pleaded, shrinking unto himself.

"The boss of the night shift at Burger World is a total maniac!" Téa barreled on, oblivious to Marik's plea. "He overworks what little employees he has, and he even breaks the law several times over! The only reason no one's ever stood up to him is because no one can afford any less job offer." Ryou whirled onto Marik and stared at him for a minute, making the entire party stop and wait. After a pause, he spoke in a dangerously low tone.

"What. Did. He. Do?" he stated. Marik shrunk farther down to his shirt and played with his hands nervously. Ryou placed both of his hands on his shoulders. "Marik, I know you have a voice. Now tell me…" he stared straight into Marik's eyes. "Is what Téa saying true?" Marik stood stock still for a moment, then suddenly shoved Ryou's hands off of his shoulders.

"Oh, as if you care!" he shrieked. "I'm perfectly fine with handling myself! Why don't you just LEAVE ME ALONE? Is that too much to ask?" Ryou's jaw dropped. Téa and Yugi watched uncomfortably, but refused to leave the couple as their loyal friends. Marik continued with his rant. "I just can't stand it anymore! I'm _fine_! I'm living life _perfectly_! I don't need _anything_! You can just take your damn checks and live somewhere else, because I can…I c-can…" Marik slumped, burying his head into his hands. Ryou could only stare as his boyfriend fell under the weight of so much stress. Knowing that he had caused a bit of that stress forced Ryou to be miserable. After all, he thought, I had broken his window and that must have cost a bundle from his unpaid insurance…

"Let's go home, Marik," Ryou said quietly. "Today, as your punishment, I'm going to work with you." Marik growled angrily and shook his head.

"Don't. Please, anything but that," he replied seriously. "Ryou, I can't let you…" Ryou folded his arms and gave a frown.

"You can't stop me. I'm a customer," he replied. "Now, we're going to go home, take a nice nap, and go to your workplace."

"No! We're not! I have a sick day, and I'm not afraid to use it!"

"Marik," Téa replied quietly. Marik turned to her vehemently. "Don't look at me like that. I think it's best for Ryou to see for himself what you go through. I knew that the boss worked you hard, and that's why I disapproved of Ryou's behavior towards you, but now that I know that Ryou didn't know what you went through in the first place…I think you should let him know why you're so stressed out…" Marik shook his head, but then Yugi piped up.

"If you don't allow Ryou to go, I'll call everyone we know and ask them to meet at Burger World tonight just for this occasion," he said cheerfully, and the entire party gawked at his audacity. "Don't think for one minute that I value anything less than friendship!" Yugi chirped, but there was a maniacal gleam in his eye. "If there is even one friend in need, I'll be there to help." Marik paled and looked down once more, trying not to meet Ryou's eyes.

"I really…don't want you to come. Please, Ryou," he said helplessly. Ryou narrowed his eyes at him.

"It's still the Friday of the torture week. I'm coming," he said resolutely. "Let's go home before we waste any napping time." Téa and Yugi watched as they left, and Téa turned to Yugi with determination in her eyes.

"Marik doesn't want his friends helping him? Well, we can't have that!" she announced. "Let's call the entire damn school and have them at Burger World at nine, when the second boss is at his worst. Ryou's decision to help Marik will surely cause everyone to come!" Yugi nodded, all while maintaining his cheerful demeanor.

"We'll get to them, Téa, don't you worry!" he replied. Téa smiled, and the two began plotting.

"Marik…" Ryou said gently. "It's time for us to go." Marik looked blearily at Ryou, eyes marred with tears. He sat up and hugged Ryou, burying his face in his chest.

"I love you," he murmured. "Even though you broke my window, refused to go away, and acted like a douche all week, I love you. Don't leave me alone, even when I said so…don't listen to what I said earlier." Ryou smiled and held him.

"Of course, Marik," he murmured. "I'll never leave. You'd have to try harder than _that_." Marik choked out a laugh and hugged him tighter. With a sigh, he then got up and went to his room to don his waiter's uniform. Ryou, however, had different ideas and followed him.

"Um, Ryou?" Marik asked awkwardly. Ryou only smiled wordlessly and gently guided Marik onto the couch. He suddenly planted his face onto Marik's neck and began nipping and sucking the skin. Marik still remained surprised, and he gripped Ryou's shoulders. "What the hell are you doing?" he asked confusedly, with a hint of disapproval. "Ryou?" Ryou suddenly gave him a rough bite and Marik hissed as Ryou proceeded to lap at the hickey apologetically.

"Woke you early…" Ryou grunted, kissing all around Marik's neck. "…so that we could have some quality time before my week of power is over…" Marik moved to protest, but he couldn't. He felt, all too keenly, Ryou's flaming touches, the way he kissed the center of his clavicle, the way he whispered his name…and succumbed. Ryou hummed as he skimmed his lips among Marik's jaw-line and Marik let out a sigh of satisfaction. Turning, Marik gave Ryou a lingering kiss that grew deeper, but Ryou pulled back before things could progress.

"You're so beautiful, and I'd rather spend more time on this activity…" Ryou muttered. He lifted his hands from the contours of Marik's body reluctantly. "But we should get cleaned up. Your shift begins in half an hour."

"What? But…Ryou," Marik began indignantly. He wanted to stay longer, feeling extremely passionate and in need of Ryou's company.

"You know we have to go," Ryou said gently, regretting the fact as much as Marik regretted it. Marik sighed inwardly, wishing that they could sit and talk about what just occurred. So many questions filled his mind: Did Ryou making out? Did he feel the satisfaction that Marik did? Instead, he merely nodded, getting up with Ryou's help and taking care not to irritate his stomach, though it only throbbed dully now. Marik flushed as Ryou's hand lingered on his ass, shamelessly groping him without any sort of permission. "Really Ryou?" he snapped playfully. Ryou only smirked at him, but lifted his hand from Marik's rear.

"I'm pretty confident that you're somewhat less stressed after our make out," he said happily. "Now if we had sex…" Marik flushed at his vulgarity, shoving him gently.

"You're acting as if I live for your body," he sniffed. Ryou rolled his eyes.

"If you just loved me for my body, would I be going to your job and demanding that your boss fix your conditions? I think not!" he replied. Almost immediately, Marik flinched as he remembered his current situation. He put on his uniform and stared outside with a hint of foreboding. Ryou wore his own material, noting with distaste that Marik's uniform was drafty and left no visible barrier against the freezing night winds. "Marik, does Burger World allow employees to wear their sweatshirts or sweaters?"

"Not if they don't match the colors," Marik replied quietly, knowing where this conversation was headed.

"That sweatshirt does not fit the criteria," Ryou replied darkly, narrowing his eyes. Marik sighed with melancholy, his mood dramatically changing with the nervousness he felt.

"It's all I can afford. The restaurant is pretty good about its air conditioning, though, and the fryers keep the kitchens pretty warm. Ryou," he said, his tone turning softer. "Don't worry about me, I'm fine." Ryou walked up to him and kissed him slowly, recognizing that the other man was, indeed, nervous. He ran his hands down Marik's back, massaging it.

"I promised three years ago that no bully would ever terrorize you again," he sighed. "Especially not freaks like your card-game obsessed father." Marik nodded against Ryou's chest. "You promised the same, and I realized that it was a team effort the day you took down two of my bullies who'd been teasing me about being gay."

"They deserved what they had coming," Marik grunted. Ryou chuckled, then tilted Marik's face down.

"That's precisely what I mean. You should understand how I feel right now when _this_ goon is harassing you," he replied. Marik's eyebrows shot up with indignation, but he found that he was speechless when it came to the comparison. Ryou's bullies had consisted of a student and her father, affronted by the fact that Ryou had turned down her invitation to the dance. His excuse caused a violent dispute regarding his sexuality, which only another gay friend could assuage. Marik had stood up for him, prevented any more abuse, and successfully diverted attention when he had gotten Ryou's friends involved. Now, Ryou was doing the exact same thing, and Marik couldn't rightly prevent him from doing so without seeming the hypocrite…

…so he let him. Marik sighed and gave Ryou his silent permission, and the men got on Marik's motorcycle for Burger World.

Ryou cheered at the sight of the familiar Burger World in its day shift, welcoming customers for a delicious meal that was guaranteed to satisfy them. As the two got off their motorcycle, Marik shrugged off his coat, but Ryou stopped him.

"I'll handle any complaints," he said. "But keep your sweatshirt on. I don't want you to catch cold." Marik nodded.

"I'm only agreeing because it's still Friday, for the record," he replied lowly. Ryou winked at him.

"I doubt that you'll disregard my requests even after this day is over," he said with conviction. Marik smiled at him warmly.

"I doubt it, as well," he said gently. "I needed this week. I finally realize that I needed it more than ever." Ryou gave him a sultry grin, and Marik flushed. "Don't even think about it! Not at my workplace!" Ryou shrugged and laughed, wrapping an arm around Marik's flustered form and entering the restaurant. Immediately, the day-shift boss greeted Marik, not saying a word about his apparel and not commenting on the fact that Ryou, a man, had his hand around Marik's waist.

"Get on to it, Marik," he called good-naturedly. "All us day-shift people are leaving, and the night-shift people are about to receive the baton!" Marik smiled at him and left Ryou to don his worker's apron.

"On it, sir!" he called. "What tables should I clean?" Instead of answering, the boss indicated to Téa, who was just finishing up.

"Hey, you guys!" she called, her excited voice coming from something neither Ryou nor Marik could ever guess. "Marik, you can clean tables one and seven. There aren't that many people about, so go for it." Marik nodded to her before taking out what seemed to be a beat-up notebook with various notes on it. Ryou followed Marik's boss, and asked if he could have a word. Marik, oblivious, began to work diligently, serving the people at Burger World with a smile on his face. The boss stopped and turned, and Ryou noted that his face reflected guilt whenever he would look at Marik. Ryou cleared his throat for attention.

"Hey, I'm Marik's boyfriend," he began awkwardly. "I don't like the way he's being treated at this establishment. Can you do something about the night-shift boss?" he asked. The boss looked down, shaking his head lowly.

"I can't personally. Burger World is a fast-food chain that prides itself with its success. There's no way that I could fire the night-shift boss unless there's a decrease in production, or an increase in complaints."

"You mean…there are other complaints?"

"Yes…from the employees' families. There aren't enough, though, and most of the employees are grateful to even have a job in the first place."

"What about the customers? Surely _they_ notice the bad treatment!"

"The customers at night are rather…abrasive," the boss concluded. "I wonder, sometimes, if _their_ conduct is worse than the night-shift boss'." Ryou growled at this.

"That's about to change," he replied. "I'll make sure of it…somehow." In truth, he didn't know where to begin. There were so many things that needed to be done before he could even attempt at succeeding at the venture. The boss sighed and nodded his head in farewell.

"Good luck, kid. Hopefully, something will happen to help those poor employees," he concluded. When he left, Téa quickly grabbed Ryou's arm and dragged him outside the restaurant.

"Okay, so I've got everything set up," she whispered excitedly. "There's a camera on this shelf monitoring everything that's going on. There's another one in the dining area, and I've put up a sign indicating that cameras are monitoring this place, though I'm sure the night-shift boss won't bother to check. There's a camera next to that entrance as well," she babbled. "I got permission from my boss to do this, and the night-shift boss is none the wiser! We'll get this guy, no matter what!" Ryou's eyes widened.

"You mean…you're doing this even though Marik doesn't want it?" he asked, excitement growing in his heart.

"I'm not saying that I know what's best for Marik, but I just can't let someone like _that_ hurt one of my friends! It's like Yugi said: I can never value anything lower than friendship," she responded, a maniacal gleam in her eyes to rival that of Yugi's. "We'll stop this scandal if it's the last thing we do!"

"You know…you and Yugi scare me sometimes with your words of 'friendship.' It's seriously as if you guys have a cult or something…" Ryou said awkwardly. Téa rolled her eyes.

"Just be happy that you are on our side. Just imagine opposing us…" she said in a low tone, sending chills down Ryou's back. With a cheerful smile that Ryou was sure to see in his nightmares, she walked off. Ryou sighed in relief, but then noticed another vehicle approaching the scene. His eyes narrowed as a dark figure cursed at the vehicle when he realized that he hadn't parked correctly. Rushing into the establishment, he took no notice of Ryou and made a beeline for the office the day-shift boss had just exited.

"I guess I have my man," Ryou growled, entering the eatery and slamming the glass door. He stood at the front of the line, where a rather gloomy cashier had replaced the cheerful day-cashier and was taking orders disinterestedly. Noticing the camera out of the corner of his eye, Ryou winked at it, then looked towards Marik. To his surprise, the camera followed his line of sight and saw Marik working diligently to aid all his customers to the utmost satisfaction. Once Ryou reached the front, he asked the question that always threw Burger World into a frenzy: where were the nutrition facts for every meal on the menu? The gloomy cashier yawned and furrowed his brows.

"Sir, it's late. Can't you ask the day shift? They'd be happy to oblige," he droned, unaware of the fact that he was being filmed. Ryou rolled his eyes. He did, in fact, know the nutritional value of every item on the chart because Marik was such a health nut and insisted on complaining about every single meal that was over 200 Calories, but the fact that the cashier didn't help at all was a major loss of points in the night-shift business.

"If you can't procure it for me, I shall have a word with your manager," Ryou said coldly, his eyes darting to where Marik was doing his hardest to clean every spot on table seven. The gloomy cashier rolled his eyes and gave an exasperated sigh, kneeling down and slapping the brochure with the list of nutrition facts onto the counter. Ryou cursed within his head; he'd intended to get a word to the manager! Instead, he perused the brochure and selected the cheapest item on the list. Marik was going to throw a fit when he realized that Ryou had chosen the Mini Burgers; those items were cheap, yet severely lacking in any nutritional value.

"Would you like a drink with that, _sir_?" the cashier grumbled. Ryou shook his head and immediately sat down on table seven.

"Excuse me," Marik said with a grin. "This table needs to be finished cleaning before you can sit on it."

"Excuse me," Ryou replied suavely. "I live in a household where my boyfriend seems to be able to clean any surface with a touch of his finger. This table is clean enough for me to perform a sterilized heart transplant." Marik laughed, a sound that was uncommon as it reverberated through the restaurant. All the regular guests had gone, after all, and the new guests were gossipers who seemed to be too gloomy to have ever been acquainted with the meaning of laughter. Ryou decided to join Marik, laughing so that he wouldn't be alone. The cashier seemed to look at them disapprovingly, and Ryou laughed all the louder just to spite him. Afterwards, Marik took his time cleaning.

"I can't seem to get this stain out…" he ground through his teeth, scrubbing the offending stain with harsh strokes. Ryou smirked.

"I'll handle it. It seems that you're afraid to scrape the stains that won't come out via wiping," he teased. Marik wrinkled his nose.

"Oh Ryou, don't! The stuff gets stuck under your fingernails and I'll have to clean it out again when I do your daily manicures!" he whined. Ryou winced, looking over at the camera that seemed to be mocking the two with its constant attention. Marik followed his gaze, and his eyes widened. "What? Where did that camera come from?" Ryou quickly made up a story before Marik could find out the real situation.

"The day-boss spotted some vandalism in the…er…bathrooms, and wanted cameras everywhere to investigate," Ryou whispered quietly. "Let's not worry about it." Marik smiled at him and was about to speak when another voice cut across the restaurant harshly.

"Ishtar! Get your ass back in gear, and take off your sweatshirt!" barked the man that Ryou had seen coming out of the car. Marik's face paled, and he instantly departed to work on table one, the other restaurant guests laughing at his misfortune. Ryou clenched his teeth, and scraped the stain that had bothered Marik with renewed vigor. "I'm sorry, sir, but our employees are not allowed to speak with their customers," the man with the dark jacket replied sternly, as if reprimanding a child. Ryou glared at him, knowing that if he'd known that Ryou was only a couple months older than Marik, he wouldn't be treating him like one of his guests.

"That's all well and good, but I much prefer an establishment where the servers speak to their customers," he hissed. The boss shook his head.

"I'm sorry, but there are certain regulations that the night shift must follow," he said politely. Ryou raised his eyebrows.

"Oh? May I see these regulations?" Ryou asked, just as politely. The boss then narrowed his eyes, all while keeping his grin.

"Of course," he said through gritted teeth. "Anything for a _customer_." He motioned for Ryou to get up, and Ryou caught Marik's wide, frightened eyes before following the boss. Marik gave a gasp and, in an instant, flew in front of his boss as if he were an agitated bird.

"Mr. Karita! Discuss the regulations with the customer outside the office!" he demanded harshly, and Ryou saw that he was instantly angered. Mr. Karita, however, leered at Marik as he stood over him menacingly.

"Are you threatening me, Ishtar? I thought I told you," he sneered. "Never. To. Cross. My. Path." Marik didn't shrink, seeing Ryou's confused face.

"You're not taking him."

"You're not going to stop me."

"Says who?"

"Says your paycheck." Marik flinched slightly, and Ryou felt his fists clench beside him. Marik, however, noticed this and sent him a pleading look. Ryou inwardly relaxed himself as Marik took the situation in his own hands.

"Please don't allow the customer to come inside your office to view the regulations…" Marik pleaded, taking an approach that Ryou found he didn't like at all. Marik's eyes widened pitifully, trying to sway Mr. Karita's decision, and Ryou found that this vulnerable display served to anger him beyond imagination. He only reined my temper for Marik's sake; it was apparent that he had a plan. Mr. Karita was looking between Marik and his office angrily, then took a whole different step.

"Alright then," he said in a sweet voice. "I'll bring the regulations out here…after I have a word with you, Ishtar. It seems you need to be reintroduced to some of our…rules." Marik's face paled, but he gulped bravely and followed the man to his office. Ryou followed, and Mr. Karita turned to stop him.

"Don't even think about stopping me," Ryou hissed. The man took one look at his demeanor and wrinkled his nose, turning to Marik.

"Cheating on your boyfriend, eh?" he said in an oily voice. Marik looked utterly confused, mixed with the slight terror of being in Karita's presence. "Don't look at me like that, boy, your real boyfriend called me a couple days ago, saying that you were using one of your 'sick days.' This man is too old to be him. Guess I have an article of blackmail after all, eh?" Marik gaped at him, then turned to Ryou worriedly. Ryou nodded gravely.

"Don't worry, I immediately cancelled it," he replied. Karita laughed as we entered his office.

"Oh, so you are the boyfriend! You're younger than you look, aren't you? And 'cancelled?' I think not!" he chortled. "I don't recall hearing that tidbit of information!" Ryou's eyebrows shot up in surprise, then furrowed in a dangerous face. Marik groaned and buried his hands in his hair, fueling Ryou's anger.

"We agreed that he would be at work, and he showed! Pretending like it didn't happen doesn't lower its validity. I don't like being the cause of my boyfriend's distress," Ryou said angrily. "You, sir, will be punished!"

"Pray tell, how?" The boss asked. Ryou clenched his fist again, but focused on relaxing. He remembered the plan that Téa and Yugi had made for them, and out of the corner of his eye, perceived the tiny camera recording all activities. Marik, however, found no such comfort.

"NO!" he cried. "Please, boss! You know I was here every day for the past two months!" Ryou quietly gazed at him with surprise. The past two months? Marik had started this job the same time he'd mistreated him! Mr. Karita only laughed harshly.

"There is no way you and your boyfriend here are going on your little 'surprise anniversary dinner' this year. I had a phone call saying that you were sick, and I already told you that you only get one sick day per year, else you're fired." Marik hung his head, shame-faced, and stared at the ground. Ryou gaped at him, realizing that he'd only expected to take one day off, and that would have been the day of their four-year anniversary.

"You truly have no heart, do you?" Ryou hissed. "I'll be sure to note that to my attorney." Mr. Karita threw back his head and laughed.

"You and what army? No one will know what was said here today. I have a metal detector on my doorway, so I know neither you nor Ishtar brought any recording devices. Ishtar knows better after the last encounter, but I guess everyone needs a refresher once in a while," Karita replied, and before either of them knew it, he punched Marik in the gut. Marik let out a choked cough before Ryou flew at Karita, throwing punches right and left and bruising the man.

"Ryou…st-stop…" Marik choked. Ryou whirled to him, beside himself with fury.

"Stop? _Stop_? This man was the reason you came home with a purple stomach that one night, and you want me to fucking _stop_?" Ryou screamed, tears rolling down his eyes. "You don't deserve this! Marik, find somewhere else to work! This shitty place is _fucking stupid_!" Karita looked up weakly, glaring at Ryou venomously.

"You'll pay…for that," he growled. "I have fingerprints everywhere." Ryou's nostrils flared as he gathered Marik in his arms.

"You have one less employee to worry about," he growled. All of a sudden, Téa strode in with a huge smile that looked wicked. She threw down her uniform headband.

"Make that two," she chirped with a menacing quality. Outside, Ryou spotted a bunch of his friends getting past the gloomy cashier and angrily rushing into the manager's office. Yugi led them, and they slapped their hands down on the wooden desk.

"You've lost a whole lot of customers!" they shouted. Marik, safe within Ryou's arms, turned his head to the side to see many more classmates, teachers, and former employees issuing their complaints. Joey clapped him on the shoulder.

"Afta' goin' through all this, these workers ain't gonna wanna lay low, eh?" he said triumphantly. "I got them all together now so's we can bust the boss once and fer all!" Ryou grinned at the influx of people showing their support.

All at once, the room fell silent. Black-suited bodyguards brought an imposing figure into the students' midst. Marik gaped as he realized that it was Seto Kaiba, multi-millionaire and CEO of KaibaCorp. Kaiba strolled in with positively fiery eyes. He glanced at Joey, who proudly walked to stand next to him, taking his hand for a good measure. Whispers coursed throughout the crowd, but Yugi and Téa grinned at the fact that their most powerful friend had decided to come to his boyfriend's aid.

"What the fuck is going on here?" Kaiba growled. Marik got out of Ryou's arms and stood in front of Kaiba firmly. Kaiba regarded him with a certain form of respect, as the Ishtar family was a family of sorts with the Kaiba family.

"Kaiba, don't make a big deal out of this…" he said firmly. Turning around, he met shocked faces. "Everyone, there's really nothing to see here. Ryou, Mr. Karita, and I were having a private discussion."

"Bullshit! Kaiba, don't listen to a word he says!" Tristan called out from the crowd. Ryou grabbed Marik's hand so that Marik was forced to turn to him.

"Marik," he said in a low voice. "All these people are here to help your case. Please…_please_ just accept their help!"

"Ryou," Marik replied in a low voice. "I have to handle my own problems! I don't want to cling to everyone the way I clung to you during the past two months! I've learned from my mistakes; that was what the week was for in the first place!"

"Then you learned your lesson too well," Ryou grumbled. He jerked his thumb at Mr. Karita, who was in a heated discussion with some of his former employees. "Look at him! He'll never learn _his_ lesson if you don't assert yourself, dammit!" Marik stared at Ryou, feeling as if he'd just had a revelation. He clutched his head, confused.

"Marik," Kaiba repeated urgently. "Is what Joey saying true? Did your boss harm you?" Marik looked at him with the same confusion. He immediately stared at the floor, completely confused as to how he should handle his conduct. He always thought that his flaw was that he depended on Ryou too much, even to the point of abuse, and so learned to keep to himself. But now…now, Ryou said that it wasn't so. And it wasn't only Ryou…his entire school seemed to dislike the idea that he proves his hard work in this manner. He sighed exasperatedly. What was he to do? Suddenly, he felt Joey come to his side.

"Yo, Marik," he said softly. "You okay?" Marik shrugged, then suddenly flinched. What if it'd been Joey instead of him? What if it'd been Téa, or even…Ryou? And Marik then understood. Mr. Karita's abuse wasn't proof that he was strong, but proof of his submission. He growled.

"Kaiba," he called. "Mr. Karita just punched me in the stomach about two minutes ago." Joey cheered and Kaiba smirked in satisfaction. Marik grabbed Ryou's hand, still somewhat unsure of himself, but found that Ryou's comforting squeeze was more than enough assurance. "If you need any proof, the camera is right over there." Marik pointed to the corner of the room, and Ryou smiled as he found Téa's camera. Mr. Karita paled, and he slowly began backing away.

"N-no…" he stuttered. "It…it was all staged!"

"I highly doubt it," Téa scoffed. "I'm a witness! I saw how you treated Marik a while back, and it'd been bugging me for a while. I couldn't do anything about it because I thought it was none of my business, just like a lot of people here believed." Quite a few guilty faces nodded at her words. "But then, Yugi came up to me heard the story. He insisted that I help Marik, because if I were trapped in his situation, I'd want someone to help me, too." Tristan nodded.

"Yeah, I didn't even know the hard times Marik had to face because I didn't even know Marik. Then Ryou ranted to the class about how Marik had to put up with so much shit, and I decided to take part in Téa and Yugi's plan to stop it once and for all."

"I once went to Burger World at nine, and I found that Marik knows way more about the ins and outs of the restaurant than _you_ do!"

"Yeah! If anything, _Marik_ should be the new night-shift boss!" At this, Marik's eyes widened and he lifted his hands up.

"No way!" he exclaimed, but Ryou nudged him.

"You'd get way more pay," he whispered. "And you could boss people around without being considered a jerk-ass, so long as you don't overdo it." In an instant, Marik's hands curled into fists, and he pumped one up in excitement. Ryou shook his head. Marik was as easily convinced as ever, so that meant things were finally returning to normal.

"Way! Let's try it out!" he cheered. Kaiba rolled his eyes at his enthusiastic antics.

"Whatever. First, let's get through court. I'm sure that this will be a quick case," he said wryly, staring smugly at a pale-faced, cornered Karita.

* * *

><p>"So, how does it feel to be the boss of Burger World?" Ryou asked his boyfriend from the couch. Marik was no longer wearing his uniform, but an official business suit. The court process hadn't been long with Kaiba's influence, and Marik grinned happily at Ryou three months later, settled comfortably into the job process.<p>

"I actually know how to handle most of the things, and I always have free time on my hands. Who knew that acting as the boss of the restaurant would have such perks? I even finished my homework at work!" he exclaimed. Ryou quirked an eyebrow.

"I have to agree with Karita's lawyer: how is it that a minor could have a full-blown job like that?" he asked. Marik rolled his eyes at his boyfriend.

"The same way Kaiba can be the CEO of KaibaCorp and make all the business deals at his age," he replied. "You seem to forget that he was the one who represented me during the case." Ryou sniffed, then grabbed Marik's arm and yanked him into his lap. Marik uttered out an uncharacteristic yelp that made Ryou smile.

"I want some more 'quality time,'" Ryou explained. "Care to satisfy my wishes?"

"Do I look like some fucking genie to you?" Marik snapped. Ryou smirked.

"With all that gold jewelry, one doesn't have to imagine too hard," he retorted. Marik glared at him, and Ryou grinned back. "Relax, Marik! After all, you're my wish come true!"

"…You did not just say that," Marik spluttered before laughing loudly. "No way…that was _horrible_!" Ryou laughed with him, glad to have these moments once more with the one he loved. After the laughing died down, Marik and Ryou fell into a comfortable silence. Marik's stress had lessened to a manageable extent, and Ryou had paid for the new window in the kitchen with his weekly check. He was now looking for a job so that he could support the house just until he and Marik moved to college. Marik had already found someone interested in the house, and was currently searching for a new job somewhere in Canada, as he had relented to Ryou's insistent demands that they should live in a cooler climate. In all honestly, Marik was fascinated with its daylight patterns, and the aurora borealis had finally made him just as eager as Ryou to move there.

Ryou brushed some of Marik's hair back and felt Marik give an appreciative purr when his warm lips touched the other's cool skin. He smiled, looking forward to the "quality time".

* * *

><p><strong>(AN): **Meh, I actually don't really like this chapter that much. I had an idea over where this was going, but my muse completely veered off-ramp and had a bit of a personal road trip -_-;;. Well, I hope you guys enjoy it! Please leave reviews :D!


	8. Happy

**(A/N): **Oh, this fic just did NOT want to be written! I'd wanted it to turn into an Angstshipping b-day fic (for no particular reason, of course) but it veered this way and that until I could no longer salvage the Angstshipping besides in a completely innocent way.

Thanks to PiWrite and Lazy Gaga for reviewing! I feel so spoiled...*sniff* you guys are the best! And PiWrite, it's totally the line anyone'd want to hear from their boyfriends, isn't it? (lol)

This plot bunny jumped into my head when I was thinking of Marik trying to show Ryou what "happy" is through a large smile.

* * *

><p>Happy<p>

At 6:00, he was to be out of bed. After all, Ryou's father had to arrive at his job at precisely 6:50, and the drive was ten minutes. He'd counted.

Ryou promptly brushed his teeth, taking four and a half minutes, and pulled out a pair of socks straight afterwards. He had to put his socks on first, else he'd forget about them. It took him nine and a half minutes to dress, only because he couldn't get the blue overall straps to click with the buttons.

When he ate his cereal, he had the android put on his shoes. He chewed slowly, allowing his 3-D watch to ring its alarm after fifteen minutes. His father tightened his tie and set the coffee maker onto "1 min. setting." Ryou ate without a pause, then tapped the android on its head while he was finishing his milk. It, in turn, sped toward his Lunch Maker Pro and set the setting to 2 minutes before proceeding to take Ryou's dishes.

Ryou took his bag and brought out his new pencils, specially made for his first day back at school. Once the android brought his lunch pail, complete with a holographic dome to keep his fruits fresh, he walked to the garage portal and waited patiently for his father.

His father was three minutes overdue. Ryou remained stationary as his father dashed in, a half-eaten bagel in one hand, and scooped up his briefcase. He nodded at Ryou, grinning brightly.

"Ready to go?" he chirped. Ryou nodded, and his father lost a bit of his smile at the lack of enthusiasm his son displayed. He hoisted him onto his shoulder with his bagel hand. Ryou was only glad that he hadn't been drinking coffee, as the stains wouldn't have come off of his clean, freshly ironed shirt and his groomed white hair. Instead, he only had to brush off the crumbs from his father's bagel and let the booster seat self-strap him in. His father immediately started the engine, and the two rose from the garage.

"Now Ryou," his father suddenly said. Ryou turned to him, noting the subtle shift from an amiable tone to one more commanding. He heeded his father's words completely, unless it was something he didn't understand or something that he was not physically able to perform. "I want you to make a friend."

"Pardon?" Ryou asked, surprised.

"Make a friend," his father repeated, gazing at him sternly. "You are my very special little boy, but I want others to see how special you are as well." Ryou knew the reason behind the command. His father had once asked him to be happy, but Ryou hadn't known what that meant. Being happy was something he hadn't been for a long time, and he'd completely forgotten the methods one must undergo to procure happiness. His father tried again and again to make Ryou happy, but each method didn't seem to work. This time, Ryou supposed the "friend "was another attempt at having other people make him happy, similar to the time his father had arranged playdates (which resulted in disaster.) Ryou sighed.

"I shall do as you command, father," he replied sullenly. His father looked at him with that odd expression he'd occasionally get, but nodded back. Ryou was promptly teleported out of the vehicle and onto the streets below, where less-advanced families were dropping children off with gasoline-powered, wheeled contraptions. He dutifully walked up to the school, ignoring the stares and the whispers. When he got to his classroom, he put his pail precisely five centimeters from the leg of his desk and awaited the arrival of the teacher. He had 60 minutes, as his class started at 8:00 and his father had a late streak that made him 10 minutes overdue. He folded his hands in his lap and waited.

"Hello!" a voice suddenly said by his ear. Ryou blanched slightly and then turned to see an odd boy with purple eyes and a large grin on his face. Ryou remembered his father's request and reluctantly nodded at the boy in acknowledgement. "I'm new. My name is Marik Ishtar, and my favorite color is purple!" Ryou resisted the urge to cover his ears. Marik's voice was harsh and grating, and his face remained too close for comfort.

"What do you expect me to do with that information?" he retorted. Marik pursed his lips, suddenly looking angry.

"I dunno! Ishizu tells me that I can't have a best friend if I don't even know their favorite colors. So, what's _your_ favorite color?" he asked. Ryou marveled as Marik's face smoothed out to one of curiosity. He shrugged. His father had asked many times what his favorite things were, but he never had an answer. He didn't prefer anything to another, so the conversation was a lost cause the minute it started. His father's words rang out, however, and Ryou managed to choose a random color in order to cement his new "friendship."

"Blue," he uttered. "My favorite color is blue."

"What kind?" Marik asked immediately. "My favorite kind of purple is lavender, like my shirt!" Marik pointed at his shirt proudly. Ryou looked at it with slight distaste.

"Isn't it a little too small for you?" he asked. Marik pouted.

"Leave it alone! It was my brother's before he handed it down to me, and it's the only shirt I have besides my black one!" he protested. Ryou felt that he had hit a nerve, and he worked to assuage it.

"It's…a very nice color," he said, feeling odd. He'd never had to tell a lie before, but if he was going to be this child's friend, he may as well go all out. Marik, thankfully, didn't overdo his sadness.

"Why thank you," he replied, giggling afterwards. "I colored it myself!" This piqued Ryou's interest. He'd assumed that the shirt had come lavender, or that Marik had gotten an appliance that colored shirts to his liking.

"How did you manage to do that?" he asked, genuinely curious. Marik grinned at him, knowing that he had Ryou's full attention.

"I took some blueberries and raspberries and made a special formula, and then I drenched this in it!" he announced proudly. Ryou, upon closer notice, realized that Marik's shirt had random splotches of purple where his concoction had been over-dispersed. He began to rethink his plans for friendship when Marik suddenly grabbed his hand.

"Hey! I don't even know your name!" he exclaimed. Ryou sighed. He'd gotten this far; he might as well complete the journey.

"Ryou Bakura, age 6. My birthday is in two weeks," he said dully. "How about you?"

"I'm 6, too! My birthday is two days before Christmas, but that's okay, because my family doesn't really celebrate it anyway," Marik replied. He leaned in further as if Ryou was a fellow conspirator that Marik was discussing plans of arson with. "We don't have a lot of money." Ryou's eyebrows rose. Marik pulled back and put his index finger to his lips. "Don't tell anyone." For some reason, Ryou knew he wouldn't.

* * *

><p>Their friendship escalated fast, what with the constant playdates Ryou's father set them up with. The other kids found the pair to be the oddest they'd ever encountered: one was deathly quiet while the other was loud and rambunctious. The kids soon grew to admire Ryou for his immense patience with Marik, so Ryou's popularity grew fast. Marik's, on the other hand, plummeted. Ryou found it odd that Marik never noticed the plunge and continued trying to associate with others. When they would reject him, he would come back to Ryou and play games with him as if it never happened.<p>

"Why do you do that?" Ryou asked one day. Marik glanced at him with confusion.

"Do what?" he asked. Ryou frowned.

"Go off and try to make friends, but then come back to me when you haven't found any," he said bluntly. Hurt flashed through Marik's eyes.

"Remember the birthday party your father set you up with? Everyone was there, and it was so fun!" Marik replied, referring to the birthday party Ryou had gotten two months earlier. "I want my birthday to be the same way, with a lot of people. I'm trying to make friends with people so that they'll come. Do…do you think you'll be able to make it, Ryou?" Ryou looked at Marik's pleading face, wondering if it was "friendly" to reject an invitation. He decided that it wasn't the best idea.

"I'll make it," he said. "Just give me the date." Marik's face brightened.

"It's on the fifteenth of December, so that people won't be too busy Christmas shopping and the like. I've put a lot of thought into it, and Ishizu's helping me make invitations!" Marik said excitedly. "I'm so happy!" Ryou started at the familiar word.

"Happy? How did you get happy?" he asked. Marik grinned.

"Because you accepted my invitation!" he replied.

"How can you tell that you're happy?" Ryou asked, intrigued. Marik rolled his eyes and mustered his biggest grin.

"_This_ is happy!" he explained, pointing to his smile. Ryou nodded and felt a deep sinking in his stomach. Marik's eyes were sparkling with hope, but he was not popular with the kids and would most likely end up with a small birthday party. Ryou didn't want to ruin Marik's joy when he hadn't even discovered the benefits of his happiness, but decided that it was none of his business. Marik continued to chat excitedly for his birthday, and with a promise that Ryou's invitation would be blue, he departed the school.

* * *

><p>When the invitations were distributed, Ryou noticed that the kids were acting odd. He saw that they were asking Marik what he wanted for his birthday, but then they ripped up his invitation behind his back. Some of the girls would tell him that they liked the color lavender as well, but then turn around and say to themselves that it was odd that a boy liked the purple color. Ryou was considered a part of this. The students, particularly Joey Wheeler and Tristan Taylor, praised him for being the kid who was the closest to Marik, therefore the one to betray him the worst. Ryou shrugged this off. He'd already promised that he would go, and he would. The other kids looked at him with away, while he merely turned away in disgust. They, obviously, didn't know the meaning of duty.<p>

December fifteenth came, and Ryou woke his father up extra early. There was no way he would be late when he'd said he'd be there. Marik's blue invitation was on his virtual calendar. Ryou's father, however, seemed to get out of bed slower than the cold syrup. Ryou's personal android poured coffee on his waffles because Ryou's father had forgotten to buy batteries suiting its needs. Ryou frowned, knowing that he would be late. He was already five minutes overdue, and his father wasn't even fully dressed yet.

"Father, please hurry," he said in an annoyed tone when his father entered the room. His father was surprised at the way his son actually gave an inflection in his voice and he smiled.

"You really want to get to this party, eh, champ?" he said. "Fine, let's go!" He quickly tied his shoes and picked Ryou up. Once they got to the car and the booster seat strapped Ryou in, he opened his hands and looked at the roof of the car. On cue, a brilliantly wrapped present plopped into his hands. Ryou had thought about the present thoroughly, remembering that Marik didn't have any money. He even went out of his way to make the wrapping paper purple.

When they arrived, Ryou's father ran his hand through his hair in a poor attempt at taming the purple locks. Ryou got out of the car immediately, rushing up the steps to the shabby house and waiting for the door to check his facial features to affirm that he was, indeed, a guest. Ryou's father rolled his eyes at his son's antics and brought up a fist.

"You've never been to Marik's house because all your playdates were at our house, but this is the way to get inside," he explained, knocking on the door twice. Ryou raised his eyebrows at the gesture, and a rustling was heard before a tearful Marik opened the door.

"R-Ryou?" he choked. Flushing, he looked away and fiddled with his signature purple shirt. On his head, he wore a rather large party hat that kept slipping. Other footsteps indicated that Ishizu had arrived, and she smiled at the guests before kneeling down to Marik.

"Marik, don't be rude," she said gently. "Tell him where to put his present." Marik nodded, wiped his tears, and grabbed Ryou's hand. Ryou noticed, as they passed through the house, that the Ishtar family had decorated the house with the expectation that they would receive a lot more guests. He ducked his head, slightly ashamed when he realized that they wouldn't have to have gone through all that trouble if he'd just told them that Marik was not going to receive as many guests as he'd hoped. At the same time, however, Ryou found that it would have been rude to do so. He sighed and decided to let nature take its course.

Marik led him to a table, where Ryou set the gift down and took a party hat from the hundreds that were strewn about. All at once, Marik grabbed Ryou and hugged him.

"Thanks for coming," he whispered. "Especially since no one else did." Ryou felt empathy for the first time, and he wrapped his arms around Marik. He let the boy cry into his shoulder, feeling horrible that Marik had to lose his dreams the way he did. Marik only pulled away when he heard his brother calling his name. "Yes, Odion?" he called in his loud voice. Ryou winced, thinking to himself that on Marik's next birthday, he would be giving an intercom system.

"You have another visitor!" Odion replied. Marik's face brightened, and he turned to Ryou.

"Come on!" he said excitedly. Ryou noted that Marik didn't leave him alone this time, as he usually had whenever he tried to make friends with other people, and he followed Marik to the reception room. A little boy known as Yugi, smaller than most of the other second graders in Marik and Ryou's class, shuffled his feet awkwardly while holding a large present disproportionate to his body. When he saw Marik, his eyes brightened.

"Happy birthday, Marik!" he cried. "I'm sorry I'm late, I couldn't find the present!" Ryou raised an eyebrow at the rather large present that the boy carried, finding it hard to miss. Ryou's father shared the same sentiments, as he glanced at Yugi's mother with confusion. She, in turn, shrugged helplessly.

"He has a very messy room," she explained, causing the boy to blush as red as the tips of his hair. Marik smiled again and showed Yugi to where the presents were supposed to be taken. Yugi looked at Ryou's present with trepidation. It was no secret that Ryou was richer than most, so Yugi couldn't help but feel intimidated.

"Perfect! We have three people!" Marik said excitedly. "Let's play Pin the Tail on the Donkey!"

"You could've played that with two people," Yugi pointed out.

"Yeah, but it's funner with three!" Marik replied. "Come on! Take a party hat, Yugi! Let's choose a color!" Ryou learned what Pin the Tail on the Donkey was soon enough, and he also learned how adept Yugi was at the game. While Marik was a great player, Yugi seemed to know exactly where the X was each time. Marik and Ryou had both checked to see if his blindfold was secure, and they both couldn't find a fault. Yugi seemed to be just that good. In the end, Ryou and Marik decided that they would vie for second place for some actual competition. When Ryou was about to pin the tail, another knock sounded at the door. Ryou lifted his blindfold just before Marik grabbed his and Yugi's arms and dragged them to the front door. There, a pretty little brunette self-consciously straightened her skirt with one hand while the other held an average-looking birthday present. She glanced at Ryou with surprise.

"Téa!" Yugi cried, running up to her. If Téa had looked surprised at Ryou, she looked even more surprised at Yugi. She smiled at him and returned his hug. Marik rolled his eyes.

"Great, a _girl_," he pouted. Ryou raised an eyebrow. Marik was in no position to be choosing whom he liked or didn't like. Luckily, the adults laughed it off.

"Fine! Then I guess you don't want my present," Téa snapped. Marik gaped and looked toward Ishizu, who shrugged and hid a smile behind her hand. "Nice try!" Téa continued. "But she's a _girl_, so she's on my side!"

"Fine! I'm sorry!" Marik said desperately, not wanting to lose the present. "Here's a party hat! I'll let you play Pin the Tail on the Donkey with us!" Téa smiled at her victory. Marik led her to the room, chattering away as if nothing had happened. Ryou followed with Yugi, who was stealing glances at Téa every so often. Eventually, the four kids were playing once more, with Yugi winning every time and Téa congratulating him.

"Hey, let's play jump rope!" she suddenly suggested. Marik wrinkled his nose while Ryou looked on confusedly.

"Jump rope?" he asked. Marik rolled his eyes.

"It's a girly game," he explained. Yugi smiled at Marik ingratiatingly.

"Since Ryou doesn't know what it is, I think we should show it to him. I was never really good at jump roping anyway, so practice would be nice," he said. Ryou noted the way Téa beamed and he wondered: just what sort of friendship did she and Yugi have? He shook his thoughts away as Marik brought a rope out from a closet.

"Okay, Yugi and I will hold the rope while Téa jumps," he said. Téa frowned.

"I'm wearing a skirt! I can't jump if I'm wearing a skirt!" she protested. "Besides, you guys don't know any jumping rhymes!" Marik gave Yugi a suffering glance before handing Téa the rope and moving to the center.

"I'll jump then. Ryou, watch me!" Marik called, as if Ryou were in the next room. Téa began spinning the rope with small loops as Yugi tried to keep up by waving his small arms in a windmill fashion. Ryou watched in amazement as Marik jumped to the rhythm Téa sang, even as the rope moved faster and faster. When Marik finally stepped on the rope, he was flushed and grinning with exhilaration at his exertion. "Your turn, Ryou! Take a couple of tries." Ryou tentatively approached the rope. Téa swung it, but Ryou jumped prematurely and ended up tripping over the rope. Grimacing in pain and humiliation, he got up and dusted himself off before sitting down.

"Ryou, try again!" Téa cried, stifling some laughter. Ryou shook his head stonily, but Marik grabbed his hand.

"I'll do it with you! It only takes a couple of times!" he said, Ryou frowned, but he didn't want Marik to be sad again. He reluctantly got up and made his way to the rope, glaring at it as if it were the source of all his troubles.

"Ready…" Téa began. "Go!" She and Yugi brought the rope up to an arc. Marik waited until the right moment before crying out "Jump!"

Ryou jumped without hesitation, and watched in amazement as the rope moved under him. Marik cried, "Jump!" again and again, and Ryou noticed something more surprising. He trusted Marik's judgment where he'd never trusted anyone else's. With that thought in mind, Ryou's mind fell at ease and he allowed Marik to guide him through the game.

"That was…fun," he said with a small smile when it was over. Marik grinned his "happy smile."

"I know! I keep telling Ishizu to tell the school to bring ropes out for recess, but she says that they don't listen!" he exclaimed in his loud Marik way, despite the fact that this statement was hypocritical with his earlier sentiments. Yugi grinned and nodded.

"They should, 'cause this is fun! My turn!" he called.

* * *

><p>The candles were blown, the cake was cut, and the birthday boy was in front of his presents. Marik picked up Yugi's first, since it was the closest, and made a show of shaking it to find out what was inside. He opened it to see a large box of board games carved from marble. With bright eyes and a large grin, Marik set off to play with it right away, but Ishizu stopped him and took him back to the table.<p>

"Open the rest of your presents before you decide to dash off," she said. "And who do you thank?" Marik smiled sheepishly.

"Oh, right. Thanks a bunch, Yugi!" he exclaimed. He took Ryou's next, making the boy in question pout inwardly. For some reason, he'd wanted Marik to open his last, so everyone could see what he'd gotten him. All the same, Marik expressed delight when he realized that Ryou had gotten him a holographic space flight game, complete with four customizable spacecraft holograms that battled each other to their dooms. There was even a story mode in which the crafts had to tour the galaxy in order to stop aliens from attacking. It was all in one small cube, making it portable and ready to play at any time. Marik set it with his games and thanked Ryou enthusiastically. He picked up Téa's gift, which was a music player bracelet, and after thanking her, set off to play with his toys.

"Marik!" Ishizu called. Marik turned back to see his bewildered classmates and their amused parents. "I think you forgot your friends," Ishizu sighed.

"O-oh, right," Marik laughed. "C'mon guys! Let's play!" Ryou found himself once again introduced to games he didn't know, as Marik said that he would play with the games in the order he received them. Yugi's box of board games featured chess, checkers, mancala, and others that Ryou found very intriguing. Yugi, of course, won them all, but Téa, Marik, and Ryou had a fun time trying to outdo each other. Ryou felt as if the time flew by. They played his game next. Ryou had the blue spacecraft, Marik had the purple, Téa had the pink, and Yugi had the yellow. They got to level three in the story mode before the parents called their kids.

"Aw! But Marik didn't get to use my gift!" Téa cried. Her mother smiled at her.

"He'll bring it with him to school tomorrow, won't you, Marik?" she asked. Marik beamed and nodded.

"Don't worry, Téa! I'll bring it!" he yelled cheerfully. Téa still looked unsatisfied, but her mother took her away before she could raise a tantrum. Yugi's mother took him as well, saying that they had a fun time and were grateful for the cake. Ryou's father was left, and Ryou felt sad. He hadn't felt this sad in a while.

"Ryou, time to go!" he chirped. Ryou looked up at him mournfully.

"I don't want to go," he said silently. Mr. Bakura gazed at his son in surprise.

"What?" he asked, thinking he must have misheard. Ryou was always obedient, and he never expressed any wishes. But Ryou stood next to Marik, and he crept closer to grasp his hand.

"I want to stay with Marik," he replied, staring at his father with nervousness. Mr. Bakura sighed. Of course his son would want the only thing he couldn't have.

"Ryou, we have to go home," he said. "Come on. You'll see Marik at school." Ryou hesitated, but then Marik gave him a nudge.

"It's alright, Ryou! I'll see you at school!" he said. "Besides, we'll get to play with Yugi and Téa there as well!" Ryou nodded, but couldn't bring himself to say goodbye, even as Marik hugged him. He didn't care about Yugi and Téa. He just wanted to hang out with Marik. He didn't utter a word as his father drove the car, and merely slept in his room for the night without bothering to take off his party hat.

* * *

><p>In the morning, Ryou got ready for school extra early. After his father dropped him off, he made his way into the classroom where Marik was listening to his music bracelet. Ryou sat beside him.<p>

"Hello," he said quietly. Marik looked over at him and gave his trademark grin.

"Ryou! Thanks again for the gift!" he chirped. "I brought it today so that we could play with Téa and Yugi!" Ryou felt his pout forming.

"Why don't we play it right now? When they come, they can play with us," he suggested. Marik shrugged and agreed. Ryou felt his mouth expand in delight, his lips stretching up. Marik glanced at him and gasped.

"Ryou! You're happy!" he said excitedly. Ryou felt confused, but the bubbly feeling inside of him didn't cease.

"I am?" he asked. Marik nodded. Ryou felt even…happier, he supposed, and before he knew it, the bubbly feeling exploded and he was laughing. Marik laughed as well, drawing attention with his loud voice. Ryou stopped laughing first, but his smile remained. Marik let loose a couple chuckles now and again. He stared at Ryou's face before turning away and starting the game.

"You look good when you're happy. You should do it more often!" he exclaimed. Ryou nodded and turned to the game, eager to play with Marik beside him.

* * *

><p><strong>(AN): **You know you love the fluff, even though it wasn't "romance". I could think of a hundred ways these kids could end up together in the future!


	9. Intuition

**(A/N):** Haha, yeah...I took forever with this one. It was very complicated to make the plot, etc. I literally pored over it and deleted chunks out of it before patching up the pieces I liked into this fic.

This is the product of watching too many Cold Case episodes. Please forgive me if this mystery just plain sucks, but I like mysteries (as my name is _Mistories_) and I thought I could give it a shot!

Thanks to LazyGaga for reviewing! You're so cool, and I love your dedication! Actually, the scene you mentioned in the last chapter was the basis of the entire oneshot (I thought of an oversized party hat wearing Marik crying and my heart broke. Of course, I had to make a fic that had a happy ending in order to fix the problem!)

**By the way: **I hadn't realized it, but the last chapter was influenced by Black Neko-Chan's oneshot within "A Typical Fridays", though with different twists and Angstshipping. If you're into Thiefshipping and chibi-Marik's, read her fic! (I think it was chapter fifteen where she had the little ones at a party).

* * *

><p>Intuition<p>

"Marik, go to sleep," Marik's sister pleaded. "Grieving like this…it's just not healthy. Please, just go to bed." Marik turned to her, his eyes hollow. He was standing next to the window in the living room, his face as stormy as the weather. Ishizu looked at her brother sadly, sighing as he turned away from her again and began tugging on his blond hair with suppressed rage.

"Marik…"

The man looked at her, eyes dark and unseeing. Ishizu mourned the days when he would beam at her and his entire face would light up, signaling that he had more of his mother's genes in him than his father's. His face, however, was set in a permanent scowl. Slowly, he brought his eyes to his lap, where he was toying with a blue handkerchief. Ishizu's eyes widened.

"That was _his_, wasn't it?" she snapped. "Give it to me, Marik! Give it to me _now_!" The boy gave a soft smile that had Ishizu more relaxed at the indication of familiarity. It was then that she saw the small firearm that the handkerchief concealed.

"Marik, please! NO!"

* * *

><p><em>Years Later<em>

Yugi got up from his afternoon nap, one that he took every day nowadays due to the night stakeouts Yami forced his team to go through every day. He grumbled as he stretched his back, twisting it this way and that in order to pop the air out of all his joints.

"Why did I choose this occupation again?" he grumbled to himself, realizing that he was still in an outfit as black as night. "Téa's gonna kill me for leaving tracks on the floor again." He sighed as he got up from his queen-sized bed that he usually shared with his girlfriend, provided that he didn't spy overnight for his organization. He rubbed his head with a groan, hating the way the headaches he'd been recently having chased away all else, including his dreams. Moonlight soaked blond hair…that was all that he could salvage from the onslaught of pain…

As if he'd predicted it straight from the stars outside, Téa entered the room complaining to him about the tracks on the floor. As if _she'd_ predicted _his_ headache straight from the stars outside, her complaints were soft and ended quickly, and she held a glass of water on one hand and an ibuprofen in the other. He gratefully took it from her, and she sat beside him with concern on her face.

"Yugi, I know that you love your job and all, but don't you think that Yami's pushing you guys way too hard? This new case…" she gazed wistfully as he swallowed his ibuprofen. "It's killing everyone."

"This is the biggest case yet, Téa," Yugi said wearily, rubbing his temples to somehow massage the pain away. "Do you want me to explain it to you?" Yugi knew that Téa felt an acute concern whenever he came home with a stagger in his step due to a rough night filled with squatting and taking occasional notes. She liked to know exactly what was going on, and it angered her when she was forced to sit in the sidelines and watch her friends all suffer.

"No," Téa replied, eliciting a surprised glance from Yugi. "You obviously need your rest. Just don't think that you got away with it." Yugi smiled gratefully again, and with a nod, sat on the bed and relaxed, trying to nurse his headache as best as he could. He wasn't tired, as he'd just taken a nap, but the pain he felt in his head wasn't the average headache. The chain of headaches of this caliber had begun three months ago, when his team had taken on this specific mission from Yami.

It wasn't normal because it seemed as if the headaches were chasing away vital information from his dreams. The force was like an angry torrent that rushed through his brain, and the only time Yugi found relief was when he couldn't remember a single detail. This meant that he would have to forget the blond hair glinting in the moonlight in order to receive mercy from the pounding pain.

* * *

><p>"Our mission is to discover the reason for the Kaiba murders. This was a case dropped fifteen years ago due to inconclusive evidence and no real suspects, but Yami, being who he is, dug it up and ordered us to examine a variety of clues," Yugi explained. He'd forgotten his dream completely, and as expected, the headache had gone away. "The Kaiba murders are a series of murders done in a similar fashion."<p>

"Who were the victims?" Téa asked, pouring Yugi some tea and sitting next to him.

"Seto Kaiba, the owner of the house. Ishizu Kaiba, his wife. Maximillion Pegasus and his wife, along with his son Ryou Bakura. Ishizu's father, Mahaad, and his wife. Marik Ishtar went missing, and his body was not found even while his fingerprints were found on the firearm that killed everyone."

"Wouldn't that be kind of obvious? Marik must have killed them all."

"He had no _motive_, though, Téa! That's why we're all baffled. The case was dismissed with charging Marik Ishtar, but the evidence was inconclusive and the motive was just not found."

"What's your lead? Where was your stakeout this time?"

"We spent our three months examining the house for any clues that the FBI may have missed, and we found that Pegasus had a lot of dealings with Industrial Illusions, the card manufacturers. _Personal_ dealings. As you know, Industrial Illusions was KaibaCorp's main competitor in those years, and Pegasus was in Kaiba's family at the time. He could have harbored some grudges, and we looked into the Industrial Illusions' manager's two-story house to find out more." Yugi knew that the manager in question had a name, but he preferred to sort his thoughts based on the man's profession as opposed to his personal identity.

"Did you gather information? I mean, if you'd been doing these stakeouts for the past week, you must've found _something_ out."

"Other than the man's excretory schedule? Nothing much," Yugi laughed harshly. "Tristan went to converse with him, but he was extremely elusive when it came to any questions about the dead family directly, and any specific questions he completely shut off, claiming that he didn't need to worry himself over it." Téa looked down at her feet and then looked up resolutely.

"I know why. Joey, Tristan, and Duke are all strong, intimidating men. They should've sent _you_ to interview him; lessens the intimidation factor while keeps the mood serious," she answered, ignoring Yugi's indignant pout. "You guys should've waited until you knew more about the man before charging into his house and forcing someone like Tristan to fight your battles."

"Téa, believe me, I know," Yugi groaned. "It's just that we haven't been making any headway, and the team is starting to get impatient. It's vital that we make some sort of progress, otherwise this mission is a failure and we will have no leads, just like the rest of the detectives that took the case." Téa smiled at him and kissed his cheek.

"If I know you at all, I know that you'll never give up a single case until it's solved. That's why your reputation precedes you, King of Games," she laughed. "My only qualm is that you'll overwork yourself. You could solve this case with your eyes closed if you didn't have all these headaches." Yugi relaxed a bit with her laugh, glad that Téa never saw him as a failure, no matter how long he took solving a case. She always looked out for him, even when his friends were frustrated and turned away from him. Yugi was eternally grateful for whatever deity gave him Téa, as her strength, love, and patience served to anchor him in times like these. He sighed as she stood up and walked over to the calendar, marking the date off. Just as she did so, the sky grew black and a flash of thunder illuminated the red slash through the date: September 2nd.

Yugi started. His headache returned full force, which couldn't mean anything good. Téa muttered a comment about how it'd been sunny the last time she checked outside the windows, and she grimaced at the thought of a flash storm. Yugi groaned through his headache when suddenly an image appeared in his mind's eye.

* * *

><p>"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today," a voice droned. Marik shifted uncomfortably, scowling down at his shiny shoes. He looked up at the couple, hating himself for despising them. The woman, his own sister, was awash in a white wedding dress that somehow made her look like a princess, and the man, his future brother-in-law, seemed cold and unapproachable. Marik growled harder and kicked at the ground, trying to scuff up the new shoes as much as possible. His family had been doing <em>just fine<em> before his sister decided to date and get married! Of course, he hadn't voiced any objections when they first started going out four years ago, but when she became more involved with him, Marik couldn't help but think that his tightly knit family was slowly ripping itself apart.

In his frustration, he didn't notice the white-haired boy approach until said boy was right in front of him.

"Hello, my name is Ryou Bakura," the boy said quietly. Marik looked up angrily and pouted. To his surprise, the boy looked angry as well.

"What's your issue?" he snapped. Ryou glared at the couple, just as Marik had earlier, and switched his gaze back to look positively murderous.

"That, right there," he sneered, his face slowly gaining a wicked grin. "That couple. My family hates them."

* * *

><p>Yugi cried out and realized that he was in Téa's arms. He looked up at her to find her pale with fear, minutes away from fainting. She was holding him tightly, but her eyes were locked to the window. Yugi followed her gaze to see a shadow disappear and the words "LIVED, LOVED, LOST" scratched onto the windowpane where it had been moments before. After seeing those words, Yugi felt the headache release him as if scared away. He moaned, but sat up.<p>

"Let go, Téa," he croaked, slowly regaining his senses. "I have to get a picture of the window before we do anything else." Téa let go, but Yugi could see that she hugged herself in fear instead. He grabbed a disposable camera from the table and snapped a couple of pictures of the window, thinking that he would invite Joey, the cameraman of his team, to investigate. Turning away, he made his way to Téa and wrapped his arms around her shivering form. "Hey, it's alright. I…I don't think that the person intended to harm us." Téa stared at him as if he were crazy.

"What the hell do you mean? Some punk dressed in black just appeared out of nowhere and scratched the words in! Yugi, w-we have to call the police!" she cried, burying her face into his chest. Yugi scrunched his eyebrows. Appeared out of nowhere?

"Can you tell me more, Téa?" he asked urgently. She shook her head, and her shoulders shook. Yugi clenched his teeth. Whatever Téa saw had clearly shaken her. She, being one of the strongest people he knew, did not scare easily. Whatever she saw, it must have freaked her out to an unimaginable extent.

Then again, Yugi thought to himself, the dream he had had was freaking _him_ out. He knew that he'd been dreaming of the very people he was assigned to investigate, and that was _not_ normal. He took a deep breath and exhaled. It was best to forget, right? After all, he'd had strange dreams like that before…

CRASH! Another bolt of lightning appeared and jarred both him and Téa. She snapped her head towards the window, but saw no other words. Yugi held her tightly, glaring at the window as well. Téa's glare, however, was murderous.

"Yugi, this is no ordinary storm," she growled. "It's like…it's like the invisible thing that wrote the words is trying to cover its tracks."

"No," Yugi whispered. Téa stared up at him curiously. "It's trying to tell me to keep dreaming."

"What?" she asked, utterly baffled. Yugi turned to her and sighed. He told her about his dreams, how a piercing headache always managed to chase them away before he could identify what had happened. Téa nodded patiently, then looked at the glowing numbers of the clock.

"It's time for you to go," she said hollowly. "I…don't want you to leave." Yugi glanced at the clock and confirmed her observation.

"I'll be back," he replied, forcing as much comfort in his tone as possible. He didn't like the idea of leaving Téa alone, either. The only reason he knew that he had to leave is that the case depended on his presence and, more importantly, the shadow would follow _him_ rather than Téa.

"Stay safe," she answered. Yugi nodded. Téa knew that the ghost was far more interested in him than her. She was expressing concern for his own safety. He sighed and rose from the ground, helping Téa up as well. The window seemed to mock the two, showcasing the scratch marks proudly against the dark sky. Yugi momentarily wondered what the scratch marks meant, but decided to handle one mystery at a time. He kissed Téa goodbye and left the house.

* * *

><p>"So Yuge, what was the hold up?" Joey asked lazily as Yugi set up his equipment. He, Tristan, and Duke had already set up all that they needed to set up, whereas Yugi was clearly lagging due to his late arrival. Yugi brushed his bangs out of his face, trying to think of the task at hand as opposed to worrying about Téa.<p>

"My window was vandalized right before I got here," he said dryly. "Some punk scratched it and took off." Tristan and Joey laughed at that.

"We woulda been those punks back when we were young," Joey chuckled, elbowing Tristan.

"Ah, the good old days, when we could do anything we wanted because we were kids. It's kinda ironic that we're working with the government now, eh?" Tristan replied. "Oh, wait! The dude's back!" A silence fell among the team members as the manager of Industrial Illusions entered the premises. With a yawn and a crack of his shoulders, the man changed into his pajamas and set off to bed. Yugi's eyes widened suddenly, and he prodded Joey.

"Take a picture!" he said urgently. Joey snapped his camera three times in succession without hesitation, his state of the art camera capturing far more detail than the disposable one Yugi had previously used. Yugi immediately looked at the picture of a half-naked old man putting on his pants, and Duke grimaced as he looked over Yugi's shoulder.

"Dude, that's nasty. Why did you snap a picture of _that_?" he asked, wrinkling his nose. Yugi rolled his eyes at Duke's immaturity and pointed to a specific spot in the picture.

"There, see? The man has a tattoo on his butt!" he exclaimed. "It caught my eye because it was a part of the dream I just had this afternoon!" Tristan's brows furrowed in confusion.

"We already know about the tattoo, Yugi. We've known about it since we began. And whaddya mean 'dream'?" he asked suspiciously. "Are you actually on to something, or are you relying on some sort of psychic to solve the case?" Yugi glared at him defensively.

"I've been having strange dreams, and I think they're about the case! This tattoo has a date on it. That date…I think that's the day Ishizu Kaiba and Seto Kaiba got married!" he explained. "I know that I'm not supposed to rely solely on my dreams, but seriously, there's something wrong here. We already have a lead, and we've seen that tattoo at least a dozen times, but now I swear it has way more significance!" Yugi felt his headache slowly return, but he tried to shake it off. "It sounds crazy, but you guys have to trust me! I know I'm right!" The team looked at each other skeptically and turned back. Duke finally nodded.

"Yugi, since you're the brains of this team, and you haven't let us down once, I'm willing to trust you. There may be something there that we don't see, and I'll help you out. But first, let's finish this stakeout as planned, ok? If we don't find anything new, then we'll go off of your lead." Yugi nodded, knowing that this was the best deal he would be offered. Tristan and Joey nodded in agreement, and the team resumed their vigil.

About halfway into the stakeout, Yugi asked to borrow Duke's night-vision goggles. Duke gave him a confused stare, but handed them over. Yugi glanced at the room, which had looked ordinary thus far. He looked harder, but could not find any evidence that he'd already seen before. Sighing in disappointment, he passed the goggles back to Duke, who put them on immediately so as to not lose a single detail. Duke readjusted the goggles onto the man when suddenly, the manager's eyes flew open and he seemed to stare straight at him. Duke gasped, and the man's mouth began moving frantically.

"Joey! Take a video!" he called harshly. Joey's camera gained a telltale red light that he covered with his hand. Duke scrutinized the seemingly possessed man. Yugi tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention.

"What's he saying?" he whispered harshly. Duke, as the professional linguist, easily figured out the answer to the question soon enough.

"He's saying 'Lived, loved, lost' over and over again," he muttered, clearly confused. Yugi's hands gripped his shoulder in fear. "Do you know something about this, Yugi?"

"The punks I told you about? They scratched that on my window. _That exact phrase_," he whispered in fright. "That _can't_ be a coincidence. Has he stopped?" Duke shook his head, all while keeping his eyes on the man. The man himself continued to stare at the team, his expression growing angrier and angrier. All at once, he stopped, and Duke shivered. The man was still staring at the group, but his jaw was slack and fearful, as if he'd just seen a demon.

"What's going on?" Tristan called. Duke shivered again, unable to tear his eyes away. There was no doubt in his mind; the man was dead even as he stood.

* * *

><p>Ryou was older than Marik by three months, but Marik was one of the owners of the house. Ever since the two met six weeks ago, they'd been constantly battling out their individual powers. Marik's motivation was the fact that he was sick of being babied because he was the youngest person in the house, and he tried to claim that he and Ryou were equal. Ryou, on the other hand, wanted to defend his title as the second youngest so that Marik wouldn't treat him like a servant, even though he actually was Marik's personal assistant. The social class was what really got on Ryou's nerves.<p>

"Give it back!" Ryou shouted, chasing after Marik as fast as his stubby legs would allow. "It's _mine_! My mom gave me that for my birthday!"

"What's yours is mine!" Marik retorted over his shoulder. "You know that as well as I do, _slave_!" Ryou felt his face grow red, and tears threatened to make their way down his face.

"S-stop it!" he cried. Marik snickered and turned forward, only to run into Maximillion Pegasus himself. The man stared down at him, then at his tearful son.

"What is going on here?" he murmured quietly. Ryou froze, knowing that the tone of voice his father used only meant bad news. Marik, unfamiliar with this protocol, gave a lofty grin.

"Ryou doesn't know how to share!" he laughed, holding up the Change of Heart card and waving it in front of the other boy's face. Ryou felt fear squeeze his chest. His father watched Marik as a predator would watch its prey.

"Ah, so you took his card from him? The very card that he received for his birthday?" he said knowingly. Ryou clenched his fists as Marik nodded yes and blathered on about how Ryou should learn how to share. Ryou, however, found that he was not angry at all. He was frightened out of his wits, because he knew that Marik was going to be in deep trouble. True to his prediction, Pegasus' eyes glinted dangerously. Snapping out an arm, he caught Marik's hand and snatched the card from his fingers. Marik cried out in pain and surprise before Pegasus clamped the hand that was holding the Change of Heart card over his mouth. Ryou flinched, then found himself running forward.

"Father, please stop! It was just a game Marik and I were playing!" he yelled, tugging his father's arm roughly. "Let him go! You're _hurting_ him!" Pegasus glared at his son with venom.

"Ryou, go to your room! I will deal with this myself," he sneered. Tossing the card to Ryou, he turned and swiftly yanked Marik along. Ryou watched, helpless, then opened his mouth and began screaming. He knew what would happen next; his father would beat Marik until he was black and blue, and then he would force him to say that he slipped down a flight of stairs. That's what he forced his mother to say every time this happened to her, and Ryou would _not_ let it happen to Marik!

"What's all this screaming about?" Ishizu's voice sounded from the hallway. Pegasus' face paled and he immediately let go of Marik, opting to turn away from entire scene. His footsteps rang a considerable distance away as Marik rushed past Ryou to Ishizu, and she gathered him up into her arms. "Marik? What happened?" She looked up to see a tearful Ryou, and she sighed. "Ryou, Marik, come on, let's get some cocoa." Ishizu took Ryou's hand gently and guided the two crying boys into the kitchen. Unbeknownst to her, eyes glinted angrily from the corner of a hallway.

* * *

><p>"Yuge!" Joey's voice called out. Yugi groaned with the loud noise and the fact that his headache was draining all his tolerance for annoyances such as Joey.<p>

"Shut up, Joey!" Téa's voice hissed. Wait, what was Téa doing at the stakeout? Yugi opened his eyes to meet her worried blue ones. "Yugi, are you feeling alright?" she whispered.

"Y-yeah," he replied, wincing as his headache began eating away at his dream. Téa noted this, and she clenched her teeth.

"Lived, loved, lost. Yugi, remember!" she said quickly, despite the uncomfortable glances the others gave her. As if by magic, Yugi's headache cleared up and he could see that he was at his house along with his team and Joey's sister, Serenity.

"What's going on?" he asked, staring around at all of them. "Why are you all here?"

"You suddenly fell unconscious in the middle of the stakeout, just as one of the maids in the house checked the pulse of the Industrial Illusions manager and confirmed that he was dead. We hightailed it out of there before she could notice that we were witnesses and before she could think that we used alchemy or something to kill him," Duke explained. "When we dropped you off here, we found Serenity keeping Téa company, and we couldn't leave because a freak storm happened that trapped us all in your house. Téa says that a ghost or a shadow or something came 'again' and left a little present when you fell into your comatose state." Yugi lurched up, scouring the room.

"I knew that we shouldn't have written my suspicious off!" he growled. "Where's the 'present'?"

"Here," Tristan piped up, handing Yugi a small, thin book. Yugi eagerly took it and flipped through it, finding pictures that looked as if children drew them. He frowned and set the book aside, thinking it was utterly useless; a coloring book of sorts. Téa came up next to him and looked through the book.

"This must've meant a lot to someone if they had it bounded with leather and hand-sown," she muttered. "These drawings were meant to be cherished." Yugi's head spun, conjuring an image of the blond boy, Marik, and the white-haired servant, Ryou, drawing together. He then turned sharply towards Téa.

"Wait, are you implying that the notebook was bound _after_ the drawings were made?" he asked. Téa looked up at him, startled, but nodded.

"It's kind of obvious. The crayon markings veer off the page at some instances, but the sown spine covers the areas. It wasn't as if the child dug his or her crayon through the spine and drew at the very edge of the notebook without damaging it somehow," she answered. Glancing at him knowingly, she continued. "It's not some old coloring book that the shadow decided to color in just to mess with you." Yugi's face lit up, and he grabbed Téa and kissed her.

"Brilliant!" he exclaimed, pulling away. "Gentlemen, we just found our first clue!" The mood in the room considerably lightened. Téa rolled her eyes and walked off with Serenity, muttering in fake exasperation about boyfriends who only saw value in solving meaningless cases. The team, in contrast, huddled around the journal and Tristan took out his fingerprint kit, dusting the pages lightly with it. Aside from Yugi's prints, several tiny, children's prints appeared under the duster.

"Joey," Tristan muttered.

"On it," Joey replied, taking out his camera and snapping pictures. Tristan dusted the spine of the book as well, finding faint fingerprints that were much larger than the ones they'd inside.

"These are the ones of the person who made the spine," Tristan said excitedly. "All I have to do submit it to my computer and…" He suddenly deflated. "Oh, wait, we can't go outside." Yugi stared at him oddly.

"Why not?" he asked. Duke groaned.

"Oh, yeah. We can't go because of the storm," he sighed. Yugi gave him a surprised look.

"It's just a storm! Come on, we're onto something here!" he said excitedly. "I know that we can find a motive if we pursue the research!" Joey jostled his friend's shoulder.

"Yuge, that storm's bad. It blew Duke's night goggles straight off, and he couldn't even chase after it without the wind somehow trying to knock him off a cliff!" he said. Yugi looked at Duke, bewildered. Duke merely shrugged.

"It's true," he answered. "Besides, before we get ahead of ourselves, I want you to fill us in with whatever you know. It's obvious that these 'dreams' of yours are more important than we think." Yugi nodded, and began to tell the team all about his dreams. By then, Serenity and Téa had returned and were listening attentively. Once Yugi was finished with his tale, he turned to his friends.

"What do you think?" he said. "They seem so real, realer than any other dreams I've had." Serenity nodded, pulling her laptop from where it sat on a nearby table.

"I cross-referenced your claim before the storm killed my internet, and you were right about the date of the Kaiba wedding. What I'm wondering is why the guy had it tattooed on his butt, and why he freaked out like that," she said. Tristan shrugged.

"I don't know any medical condition that has that sort of symptom on it, do you?" he asked the room. One by one, the team shook their heads. Téa sighed.

"It was something supernatural, I know it," she announced. "Something's trying to either help or hurt us from solving the mystery. It's bigger than all the other mysteries that you guys have encountered." Joey nodded. He suddenly snapped his fingers and whirled towards Duke.

"Yo, Duke! What did the packet say about who died first, second, and so on?" he asked. Duke frowned as he tried to remember the secret briefing. He gave up and pulled out his notes.

"It went: Ishizu, Seto, Pegasus, Ishizu's unnamed parents, Ryou Bakura, and Pegasus' unnamed wife. And Marik went missing," Duke recited. Joey narrowed his eyes.

"How'd they die?" he asked. Duke rolled his eyes and continued to recite.

"Ishizu and Seto died from matching head wounds on the back of their heads, Pegasus' wife died from a head wound on the side of her head. Ishizu's parents died from poisoning. Pegasus seemed to be tortured, as if he died from beatings. Ryou was flung off the house, though there is evidence that he was unconscious because he was hit in the head by a gun before he died. Marik's disappearance had no clues, and Marik's body, dead or alive, has not been found," he announced. "It's not likely that we'll find it, either. All evidence seems to blame Marik for the crime, though Yami seems to believe that it was staged."

"Any fingerprints?" Tristan asked hopefully. Duke threw his hands up in the air.

"Did any of you read the briefing? No, there were no fingerprints. The culprit was wearing something at the time that covered his tracks."

"His?" Serenity asked. Duke blushed. "Yeah, way to remain unbiased."

"All the evidence points to Marik!" Duke spluttered. "It's not _my_ fault!" Yugi rolled his eyes.

"We're supposed to be unbiased professionals. For all we know, it could've been Ishizu," he said. "Wait, ah!" he cried, grasping his head. _Blond, moon-soaked hair…_the vision came back to him. He felt his throat dry up, and he coughed repeatedly. "Lived, loved, lost!" he croaked. His malady cleared, and he was able to think coherently again. "Whew! That was a close one!"

"What did you see?" Joey asked insistently. Yugi grabbed his head and explained the vision. Duke leaned back, smirking happily.

"See, I knew it," he boasted. "Marik was the one who did it." Yugi felt a sharp pain in his chest.

"It wasn't Marik," he said strongly. "I know it. I just know it."

"Then was it Ishizu?" Serenity asked. Yugi shrugged.

"For some reason, all I know is that it wasn't Marik, nor was it Ryou," he muttered. "I think that the shadow is one of them."

"Do you think that the shadow could be Marik?" Téa asked. "He or she covers him or herself from head to toe in black, so I couldn't figure out who it was the second time he or she came and dropped off the coloring book." Yugi shrugged again, feeling extremely tired. Téa noticed this, and she gave a frown. "As much as I hate to say this, you're going to need to dream some more in order for us to solve this case and in order for the shadow to leave us the hell alone." The team nodded, and Yugi reluctantly nodded as well. He fell back asleep, but just before he did, he noticed that it was December 20th. Five days until Christmas, but they were still nowhere.

* * *

><p>"Marik?" Ryou whispered. He nudged his lover, who grunted and turned over with a pillow wrapped around his torso. "Marik, wake up." Marik inhaled deeply and opened one eye.<p>

"What is it?" he asked. Ryou grinned and kissed him on the temple.

"Happy birthday," he whispered. "Do you know what you got?" Marik's eyes opened fully, and he glanced at Ryou tiredly.

"It's midnight, Ryou. I didn't get anything, unless you count your morning wake-up call," he grunted. "Shit, I don't even think Kaiba is awake yet!" Ryou chuckled, massaging Marik's shoulder blades.

"Since your birthday is two days before Christmas, I thought that we should spend the entire day together," he said lightly. "I've reserved three restaurants for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and I made sure that our families were able to make time for it, even though they've been slacking on their Christmas shopping." Marik smiled and turned to face Ryou.

"You decide to tell me this now because?" he asked. Ryou hummed in satisfaction as Marik trailed his hands up and down Ryou's back.

"Because I don't want us to be late for breakfast because we were…distracted," he sighed. Marik chuckled and kissed Ryou's lips sensually. Ryou responded well, but Marik suddenly pulled away with a confused expression on his face.

"What did your parents think about it?" he asked seriously. Ryou stiffened slightly and turned away.

"They agreed," he hedged. Marik looked at him sadly, knowing there was more to the story.

"What did you have to give up?" he asked softly. Ryou bit his lip, and a pause reigned for five minutes as Marik gave Ryou his time. Finally, just as Marik was about to doze off, Ryou hugged him. He crushed Marik to his entire body, kissing him for all he was worth.

"They're leaving," he choked. "They're leaving, and I'm leaving, too." Marik's face dropped, and he returned Ryou's hug. He kissed him repeatedly, each kiss dissolving into a more passionate one, until the two were off in their own world where no one could disturb them.

* * *

><p>Yugi woke up to Téa's pale face. When she saw that Yugi was awake, she closed her eyes and allowed twin tears to drop. Yugi sat up and rubbed his eyes.<p>

"They don't see the shadow," Téa whispered. "Serenity, Tristan, Joey, Duke…they just don't see it." Yugi frowned. The team and Serenity entered the room at the sound of Téa's voice, and Yugi's eyes widened when he saw that the shadow was following them. Téa gave a small gasp, moving closer to Yugi and away from the threat. Yugi turned to his friends, unable to believe it himself.

"You guys really can't see it?" he asked. The shadow stood motionless, but the only one who was responding to it was Téa. She grasped Yugi's hand.

"I tried to talk to it, but it doesn't respond. It's not hurting anybody," Téa whispered.

"D'you think it's Marik?" Joey asked suspiciously. "I'm sure that it's there, but I can't see it."

"Yeah, same here man," Tristan answered. "There's like a dark aura surrounding the room, but I can't see what's causing it."

"Maybe it's the murderer," Duke asked, betraying a bit of fright. Yugi narrowed his eyes when he noticed the shadow give a visible cringe. Téa noticed as well, and she stood up and made her way to the shadow. She somehow mustered up her courage when she realized that Yugi was in the room and in no condition to discuss matters with shadows that may or may not be products of crazy minds.

"Hey, Mr. Shadow person!" she announced. "I know you won't talk, but you'd better listen up! We know you played a part in the Kaiba massacre, and whether you're the actual murderer or not, we're going to have to take you into the station to figure out your identity." The shadow hesitated, then reclined unto itself. Yugi somehow knew what was happening: it was escaping the premises.

"Hey wait!" he called. The shadow turned towards him with small hesitation. "We're on the same side here. I want to solve the case just as much as you do." The shadow leaned forward, unraveling itself from disappearing. "You seem cursed in some way. Is that how it works? Ghosts come about from curses?" The shadow nodded, seemingly hopeful. Yugi chewed his lip, trying to figure it all out.

"Wait!" Joey said. "I bet the ghost is grieved over a lost loved one! Lived, loved, lost, remember?" The shadow shuddered and Tristan suddenly leapt back.

"Whoa! I think you just said the magic words, bro! Man, that thing looks _creepy_!" he replied, chattering his teeth for extra effect. Serenity scratched her head, confused.

"What did you do, Tristan? I still don't see it!" she asked. Joey and Duke shared her confused look. Tristan looked at the three skeptically.

"I'm not sure you want to," he snorted, eying the shadow with a freaked out look.

"This is no time to mess around!" Téa cried. "Just shut up and tell them what you were thinking and feeling when you suddenly saw the shadow!"

"Alright, alright, jeez!" Tristan said, holding his hands up in surrender. "I just…I dunno, related to the saying. I lived my life, I loved Miho Nosaka, but then I lost her when she moved away." Yugi clapped his hands in excitement.

"Brilliant!" he exclaimed. Tristan gave him a look.

"You're not gonna kiss me like you kissed Téa, are ya?" he asked skeptically, referring to an earlier time when Yugi had said the same word. Yugi ignored him and turned to Joey and Serenity.

"You two! You lived your lives, and you loved each other because you were siblings, but you lost each other when your parents got that divorce. Think about that, and you'll probably see the shadow as well," Yugi explained. Duke shrugged.

"That's all well and good, but I don't have anyone who I really lost. As a matter of fact, I don't think you two do either," he said. Téa frowned and looked down.

"I lose Yugi every day he goes to work. I know that your jobs are dangerous, and I can't help but worry every time he goes outside," she said solemnly. Yugi sighed and looked down at his hands.

"I felt the same way, but to a lesser degree. I only saw a piece of the shadow the night he etched on our window, but after I left and had to leave Téa behind when we'd just seen a threat…" he sighed. "There is no way that I can say I haven't lost anything. I lost my sense of security because she could've been in danger." The shadow coughed and caused the room's inhabitants to flinch. It sputtered and wheezed, trying to speak.

"I…need people…to relate to the saying…in order to be able to speak," he finally croaked out. Yugi's eyes widened. The voice was that which he heard from his dreams! It was…it was…

"Marik!" he cried. "The one who went missing!" As if those were the magic words, the shadow let loose a large breath and fell to the ground. Yugi rushed to his side along with everyone else, leaving a confused Duke standing at what seemed to be a mass of his friends huddling around nothing.

"Aw, come on!" he protested, pouting.

"I'm…I'm okay," Marik replied, his voice whispery. "Tell the dice-clad boy to think of the time Industrial Illusions denied his right to mass-produce his Dungeon Dice Monsters game." Tristan did so, causing Duke to jump back at the sight of the shadow and causing Marik to stand up straighter. "Thank you. I needed people to relate to my plight in order for them to see me and for me to draw from their power."

"Wait, what?" Joey said.

"I have to draw from your power in order to help you survive," Marik explained, breathing easily. He shook his head. "That's unimportant! It's almost my birthday, and if you don't find my body by then, this entire world will be cursed!" Téa's teeth clenched.

"Define 'cursed'," she seethed. "You're talking as if you hadn't been haunting us all this time!" Marik sighed, but nodded his head.

"I had to get to you, before the murderer did," he said. "If I didn't, you would never figure out. Trust me, the haunting I did to you guys is far better than the haunting the murderer would've done."

"You mean you've been spying on us this whole time? So that's how he knew about my fallout with Industrial Illusions…" Duke muttered.

"More importantly," Tristan edged in, earning a glare from Duke. "Why can't you say the murderer's name? Why are you still a creepy shadow?" The shadow Marik bobbed his head in understanding.

"There's a lot of significance in a name," he said solemnly. "I can't say his or her name, or give you any type of clue unless it is in your dreams. This indirect method has ended, as I've exhausted all my clues. Almost fifteen years have passed since the massacre on my birthday, and once those years are up and I haven't fulfilled the fourth component of Lived, Loved, Lost, the world will be a troubled place because the murderer's curse will have pillaged it, making it impossible for _everyone_ to fulfill the fourth component. If I try to say the name of the killer now, he or she will be able to fully kill me."

"What's the fourth component of Lived, Loved, Lost?" Serenity asked. Marik smiled.

"Reunite," he answered. "You reunited with your brother, Duke with his passion for games by playing detective, Tristan by having a new crush-" here, he glanced at the flushing Tristan knowingly, "-and Yugi by reuniting with Téa everyday after work." Joey snorted.

"How poetic," he teased. "But how will you going to the afterlife cause any reuniting? And what does this have to do with the murderer?"

"I would reunite with my boyfriend," Marik said simply. He stared at all the gobsmacked faces. "Oh, that's right, Yugi hadn't told you his dream, had he?" Téa narrowed her eyes at him.

"What exactly did you make him see?" she snarled. Marik flinched.

"Nothing too graphic, I promise!" he protested. "I just showed him something that means a lot when-" He suddenly clutched his head and screamed. Everyone stepped back to give the shadow space, but he breathed easily after a few minutes. "I…can't give you any more information." Yugi sighed, frustrated.

"Well, I'd better fall back asleep again if we want to go anywhere with this, eh?" he said bitterly. "Nothing more helpful than sleeping on the job." Marik shook his head.

"There are no more clues," he said. "You should probably tell your team your dream." Yugi nodded, and his team, including Téa and Serenity, huddled together as he retold the story. Marik let out a sad glance and stared out the window, squinting his shadowy eyes and trying with all his might to find his white-haired lover through the stormy clouds.

* * *

><p>"Where do you think your body was buried?" Yugi asked. The storm had lessened, but they hadn't found anything in the fingerprint detector at Tristan's house and communications were still offline toward their secret base. The team was forced to sit still until something came up. Marik shrugged in response to Yugi's question.<p>

"I can't tell you any more clues. Use the ones you have," he replied. The team gave a collective groan.

"We need to get into our enemy's brain in order to find out where the body is," Duke drawled. "It's like a paradox. We can't find the enemy until we find the body, and we can't find the body until we find the enemy." Tristan threw his hands up in frustration.

"I hate just sitting like this! It's like doing those pointless stakeouts all over again!" he complained. Serenity sighed and placed an arm on his shoulder.

"At least we're farther along here than we were last time. Let's look things over again and make assumptions," she insisted. Tristan smiled at her and nodded. Suddenly, Joey raised his head in triumph.

"Hey! We don't need to know _who_ the enemy is, but what he or she would do, right?" he said. "Marik gave us that journal thing, and we know that the Lived, Loved, Lost phrase applies somehow."

"How does it apply?" Téa pondered. "I know that Marik went through it, as we all did, but how does it apply to knowing our enemy?" Duke shrugged.

"Maybe he-or she, stop glaring at me-felt it as well," he offered. "It seems stupid to place a curse when there isn't any personal connection to it." Joey snapped his fingers.

"_Exactly_. I watch a lot of scary movies, and it's all about something personal," he nodded. Marik was looking down at the ground, though the team couldn't see his face to be sure.

"What's wrong, Marik? Are we on the right track?" Yugi asked. Marik's shadowy head looked up.

"I can't answer that, but that's not the reason I'm sad. Every time the date gets closer to my birthday, I miss Ryou more and more. This is the last time I'll be able to see him again, and there's only three days left. Nearly two," he added, glancing at the clock, which read 9 pm. "I'll just be in the living room," he said brokenly. "Call me of you need anything." The team watched sadly as he made his way to the living room. Yugi honestly couldn't blame him for being hopeless. After fifteen years trying to figure out where his body was in order to reunite with his lost love, Marik was undoubtedly drained of all hope.

"We gotta try harder," Tristan sighed. "So we established that it's something personal. Who else in the family has lived, loved, and lost?"

"They all lived," Serenity confirmed. "If we count love, we'll have to start with the couples…"

The team had exhausted all pursuits. They'd procured all the names, thought of every device, and flipped through the journal numerous times. When Serenity suggested that the team take a nap in order to have fresh minds for tomorrow, her friends reluctantly agreed that there would be more progress if their minds were fresh. Indeed, when they awoke, Yugi found himself pulled over to where Joey was holding open the journal excitedly.

"Yuge, we've got some names!" he crowed. "See? This spells _Kaiba_, while this spells…um, I don't know…"

"_Kisara_," Yugi gasped. "Who's that?" Tristan shrugged, but looked at the pictures with interest.

"My niece draws her people like that. It looks like a boy and a girl holding hands, with a bunch of dogs around the girl and a bunch of dragons around the boy. The weird thing is, the girl has no hair," he said. Yugi scrutinized the picture.

"Or…the girl has white hair," he whispered. "Look! White crayon!" Téa stared at the picture with her brows furrowed.

"The girl has white hair and her name is Kisara. She was obviously friends with Kaiba," she remarked.

"When I looked up 'Pegasus' wife', all I saw was the fact that she was the daughter of the man who ran Industrial Illusions," Yugi added.

"There are two sets of fingerprints," Tristan said. "The neater drawings have one set, and the messier drawings have another. I never plugged the kids' fingerprints in, just the ones on the outside cover. That still doesn't explain why there are no records." Yugi frowned.

"Ryou had white hair," he murmured. "He could only have white hair if both his parents did." Serenity turned to him with her eyebrows raised.

"You're not saying…" she gasped. "But then, that makes total sense!"

"Hello? Left out of the loop here!" Joey said, annoyed.

"Oh! Of course! That's so obvious!" Téa said brightly. Tristan and Duke shared identical looks of understanding.

"Wait, what's so obvious? WHAT THE HELL DO YOU KNOW?" he screamed. The team looked at him witheringly before Yugi sighed.

"Kisara's the murderer. Think about it, she lived and loved Kaiba," he said, pointing to the messy heart above the two children's head. "That's _her_ drawing. She also lost him to Ishizu when she and Kaiba got married because Pegasus probably laid a claim on her on the day of the wedding through Industrial Illusions. The manager of Industrial Illusions probably had a tattoo on his butt because Pegasus wanted to ensure that he got Kisara through gruesome means. Pegasus was forceful, as we all know. It's no big surprise that a power-hungry servant like that would want connections with his boss' rival company." Joey nodded, still not comprehending.

"So what makes her the murderer? Or, rather, the murderess?" he asked, scratching his head in confusion.

"The way they died," Duke confirmed to the team. "Kisara was the last one to die, if she truly is Ryou's mother. She died from a head wound that could have been self-inflicted, while Kaiba and Ishizu died from head wounds on the back of their heads that couldn't have been self-inflicted. Pegasus was tortured, and Yugi mentioned in one of his dreams that he tortured Kisara, so she probably exacted vengeance on the man she didn't love. Ryou's head wound was inflicted with the butt of a gun. While the gun was not found, it was entirely possible that Kisara managed to cover Marik's fingerprints with it with his corpse, then train a dog to carry it off beforehand. She's fixated with dogs, as you know."

"Dogs?" Yugi gasped. "You guys, I think I know where Marik's body is buried!"

* * *

><p>"I highly doubt it's here, Yugi," Marik said forlornly. It was one in the morning, as the travel had been extensive, and it marked the last day until the curse would become widespread. "I checked every nook and cranny of this house, and there's just nothing here."<p>

"Kisara lived in this house her whole life as a servant. That's why she had no fingerprints; she had servant's gloves on most of the time," Yugi insisted. "She probably knows more about the house than you would ever be able to know, and I know just the key."

"This house is so…broken," Téa said in disgust, looking around at the stained walls and the destroyed furniture.

"The construction people said that they didn't know what to do with it, so they're waiting for someone to buy the land before they demolish it completely," Tristan said. "The old age and amount of rats is the reason the walls are so disgusting."

"Not rats. Dogs," Yugi replied. "We just need to find where they are, and like I said, I have a vague idea." He recalled his dream, where eyes had glinted at Ishizu dangerously. At first, he'd thought that it was Pegasus peering over the corner. In hindsight, it could only have been Kisara, because Pegasus' footsteps rang farther away when he ran off. Ryou had said that his _family_, not just his father, had hated the couple. Marik had stated in Yugi's dream that Ryou's parents were both opposed to his relationship instead of merely Pegasus. It only stood to reason that Kisara was the mastermind behind this.

"There!" Serenity suddenly cried. A brown dog bathed in moonlight was watching them steadily, growling. The team backed away slightly.

"I knew we should've gone into the house instead of relying only on Yami's information," Duke growled. "Now the crazy witch is sending her dogs at us in this creepy house at one in the morning because she knows it'll drive us off." Marik bristled next to him.

"He or she isn't playing fair," he growled. "We have to overcome this obstacle somehow."

"I know!" Joey cried out. "Let's use a dog-whistle on him!"

"We don't _have_ a dog-whistle!" Téa snapped. He ignored her and held up his walkie-talkie. Putting the volume at its highest, he unleashed a strong squeak of feedback that had the dog cowering for cover.

"I know my dogs," he told Téa smugly.

"Considering you _are_ one," she muttered under her breath. Serenity hugged her brother.

"Great job, Joey! Now we can go through!" she said excitedly. The team followed Yugi as he made his way around the mansion. They passed Kisara's room, then Seto and Ishizu's, and finally Marik and Ryou's shared bedroom. Yugi made his way up the staircase, stopping once he reached a certain floor. He followed the twisting hallways until he ended up where he'd seen his dream take place; the area where Pegasus had nearly dragged Marik away.

"Do you remember this place?" Yugi asked, and Marik merely nodded his head.

"I scoured the house top and bottom for almost fifteen years, but this place was possibly the most scarring," he muttered. "It was probably the first time I was afraid for my life." The others understood what this place was based on Yugi's tale of the dream. Yugi strode to the corner where Kisara had been. Taking a deep breath, he turned to look around the corner and came face-to-face with…

…Nothing. He sighed in relief as a long stretch of hallway appeared in his vision. The hallway was grubby, and the team seemed to recoil from the walls in disgust.

"It smells like shit," Duke growled.

"Dog-central," Tristan agreed. Yugi smiled. They were getting closer…

All of a sudden, a wail pierced the air. It sounded like a man screaming unintelligible words. Marik reared back, frightened out of his wits.

"That…sounds like Pegasus," he said in surprise. "Like he's being tortured!"

"She's trying to scare us off," Téa said shakily. "Frankly, it's working!" Joey took a big breath and stepped forward.

"We can't back out now! Not when so much is at stake!" he said confidently. "Let's go, we can't stay here and let some stupid ghost scare us!"

"I thought you watched horror movies," Tristan muttered. "That's totally the wrong thing to say." Yugi shook his head.

"Come on! We're wasting time, and we need to find Marik's body before the whole world is destroyed," he replied. "I'll take the lead with Joey. If any of you notice any secret passages or anything, let us know." The team nodded, and made their way down the hallway. Slowly, Pegasus's screaming gave way to gunshots, then the sound of a body thumping outside the house. "We're close," Yugi stated. "Everyone, look as hard as you can!" the team nodded, but when they rounded a corner, they reached a dead end. Marik sighed.

"See? This was all that was there when I checked it," he said mournfully. Yugi growled.

"No, there's more to it," he said. "Tristan, Duke, feel the walls!" The two men agreed, delicately searching with practiced hands.

"I've got something!" Duke announced. "It's a passage, but it's really small. It's like she knew that she would do this and she wanted to be the only one who could fit through!"

"It's more like…a dog door," Serenity said. "But I think we can all fit. Joey, Tristan, and Duke will have to squeeze in, though." Marik's eyes were shining with hope.

"You guys are amazing!" he cried. "Let's go!" The team made their way in, but when the last of them entered, the dog door shut and would not budge. Growling sounds were heard throughout the room.

"Eat this!" Joey cried, putting his walkie-talkie at a high frequency. The dogs cowered, glaring reproachfully, but not before Marik caught sight of his body.

"There!" he cried jubilantly. "You guys! We found it!"

"Marik, wait-!" Yugi cried. Marik didn't listen and was thrown back by a solid force field. At its center, Kisara stood with a glare of vengeance on her face. The team stared in awe as the dogs overcame their setbacks and began rushing at them.

"Ack!" Tristan yelped, kicking a dog in the stomach. "You still a dog person, Joey?" Joey punched a dog square in the nose, kneeing another one in the jaw.

"These dogs don't count! They're cursed!" he called back. Serenity shrieked as a dog flew at her, but Téa quickly grabbed a nearby stick and whacked it away.

"Ew!" she whined, lifting her hand from the stick and glowering at the drool. "I just _had_ to grab a _teething_ stick!"

"Someone help Marik!" Duke called. Yugi snapped to attention and watched as Marik tried to get past the force field on his own. He rushed towards the conflict, ignoring Téa's cries of concern. Pushing on the force field with all his might, Yugi hoped that his meager strength helped Marik in some way.

"You're breaking the terms of the curse!" Marik cried. "I found my body before the time was up! You have to set me free!"

"I have no choice. I cannot let you win," the woman hissed. "No matter what the cost!" Her voice was corrupted, a shadow of what it once had been. Marik and Yugi pushed on the force field, trying to get to the body that lay therein. Yugi noticed that the dogs were all but ignoring him because he was touching the force field, and he called to his friends.

"Guys! I need help! PLEASE!" he cried, hoping that they would understand and assist him. Téa came first with Serenity in tow, whacking at the barrier with all her might. Serenity pushed at it alongside Yugi, and Yugi could see that Kisara was suffering with their combined power. Joey followed his sister, and Tristan pulled Duke out of battle to assist. The team and Marik pushed against the barrier with all their might, but Yugi could sense that they needed only a bit more power. All of a sudden, Marik gasped and an angel seemed to appear from the skies. The angel flew in beside Marik and helped him. Marik let out a choked sound, and Yugi immediately recognized the angel as Ryou.

"Alright!" he cried excitedly. "Guys! We need to give it our all! Ryou's here to help!" Ryou nodded and stared at his mother in disgust.

"I'm sorry I wasn't the son you wanted me to be," he growled. "But there's no reason for you to cause all this trouble! I've been waiting for Marik for so long, and now that you've violated your terms, I'm able to do my best in stopping you!" The witch shrieked as her force field shrank due to the combined power of the team and the couple. She lashed out at Marik, knocking him backwards. Suddenly, another spirit entered.

"Kisara," he said coldly. Kisara's face grew pale, and she shrieked. Seto Kaiba stared at her angrily, and Ishizu formed beside him. "You are not the friend I grew up with. I understand that you were…in love with me, but you have to understand…" He and Ishizu floated down to the force field, where Marik had rejoined a furious Ryou in stopping Kisara. "I fell in love, and it was requited. You and I, it just wasn't meant to be. You were a great friend, my best, but now…" Kaiba raised his arms and pushed at the force field with unrestrained anger. "You are my greatest adversary." The force field met little resistance, but Ishizu spoke.

"I wished to know you, to possibly become sisters with you. You pushed me away with your jealousy," she said firmly. "But I am far more angry at you for hurting the ones I love. For that, I claim you as my adversary as well." She pushed on the force field with her husband, and it easily collapsed. Kisara's ghost fell onto the floor, weak and unable to speak. Marik, however, rushed to his body and possessed it. The inhabitants of the room watched as he rose and was bathed in a gold light. With a deep breath, Marik's eyes snapped open and he grinned at the mortals who helped him. The sky grew bright, and the dogs all disappeared. Kisara was left, staring at her hands. She suddenly screamed as she began to disappear as well, and reached out to Seto. He glared at her coldly, but Ishizu touched his arm and his glare softened. He grasped Kisara's hand in a last show of friendship before she disappeared forever.

"Marik…" Yugi whispered. Marik turned to him to see him gawking at the wound on his head. "You…you killed yourself?" Marik looked down sadly and Yugi found a different sort of gun in his hand.

"I died before Ishizu and the others because I…I just couldn't live without Ryou. As you know…he was leaving. He was pretty much the only one I cared about…"

"Oh hush," Ishizu snapped, a bit hurt. "You were selfish. I hope you realize that Seto and I love you so much. It killed me when you committed suicide…"

"Don't ever do that again."

Marik looked up at his angel, who repeated himself.

"Don't ever do that again. You should know that fate wants us to be together," Ryou replied angrily. Marik sighed and nodded.

"I'm sorry. It was just…hard. I couldn't bear to be without you-"

Ryou flew to Marik and gave him a kiss. They kissed for a full minute, savoring what they had missed. Marik pulled away first and grinned at Ryou with a flushed face.

"Come on, now! We have to go to the afterlife!" he cried. "What's it like?" Ryou shrugged.

"I can't very well tell you!" he snickered. "There are mortals here!" The mortals in question rolled their eyes, but sagged in relief at the end of the conflict. Marik smiled down at them and floated down.

"I can't thank you enough for your help," he said softly. "As my gift, I'll transport you all home." Yugi smiled along with his team.

"That's all we could ask for," he confirmed.

* * *

><p>"Merry Christmas!" Joey called, lugging presents on his back. "Ho, ho, ho!" Serenity walked in afterwards, rolling her eyes at her brother's antics. Yugi smiled at all of them, inviting them in.<p>

"Hey guys! Everyone's in the living room. We're giving Yami the lowdown over what happened," he answered. Joey stretched and made his way to the couch, dropping his presents off under the tree along with the others. Yami was in the full-screen television with a smug look on his face.

"And you managed to the body in the cellar with Marik's self-inflicted wound? Nicely done, everyone!" he cheered. "Merry Christmas! You all deserve to celebrate!"

"Did you tell him about all the supernatural stuff that happened?" Serenity whispered to Téa. Téa shook her head.

"That's for another time," she said, winking. "Yami wouldn't approve of such riff-raff if he weren't there to witness it." Serenity nodded, but thought that Yami was far more open to supernatural incidents than he let on. She shrugged and decided that Téa was right. It was for another time.

"I'll let you open your presents," Yami said, nodding at everyone. "Once again, merry Christmas, and congratulations!" The team all saluted him, and the transmission winked out.

"After all that, I'm surprised I still want to be a detective," Duke drawled. Yugi grinned at him.

"You _reunited_ with your passion for playing, you know," he said. "You wouldn't give it up for the life of you." Téa rolled her eyes.

"The same could be said of _you_, Mr. King of Games," she taunted. "Except instead of Dungeon Dice Monsters, you would be obsessed with Duel Monsters." Yugi flushed, but didn't argue. Téa laughed and kissed him as an apology. "It's not like I'd love you any other way," she remarked.

"Ew, romance," Joey said, wrinkling his nose. "Let's skip all that and get right to the presents!" The rest of the team agreed. Yugi stared out the window with contentment, feeling as if everything was right with the world. Or at least, he thought, until the next case.

* * *

><p><strong>(AN): **Hehe, I liked this one! There were a lot of loose ends that I needed to tie up, but I believe that I got all of them!

I'm sorry for the wait, but thank you for reading and faving!


	10. Job

**(A/N): **Excuse any disappearing page break lines with this one; my computer's been acting up! At any rate, I thought I could try a change of pace with this one and write it in letter format. Tell me what you think!

* * *

><p>Job<p>

**To: Ryou Bakura**

**From: Marik Ishtar**

Dear Ryou,

I cleaned your study for you. Amane wandered in there with a pencil, and I spent the day erasing her mistakes before putting her to bed. BE THANKFUL YOUR HUSBAND IS SO CONSCIENTIOUS! Honestly, couldn't our daughter be a bit _cleaner_?

I miss your cooking and your smile and your laugh. My crummy grilled cheese sandwiches can't hold a candle to your lasagna, and even the dog's complaining about my cooking! Don't worry, though, I didn't give it any chocolate or anything. I had to prevent Amane from accidentally giving him any. It's so much easier when you're around so that one of us can take care of Amane while the other walks the dog! I had to carry Amane as we walked, and my limbs were about to tear off! I hope you'll like my muscular arms, because I don't even have to lift weights anymore.

Joey came by today. I know. Joey, the guy who has a total crush on Seto Kaiba? Yeah. He came to my house and pretty much begged me to hook him up with Kaiba against my sister. I told him that, first of all, my sister's not really the kind of girl to hook up with guys four years younger than her, and second, Kaiba's pretty hooked on him as well. What did he do? He denied my claims and totally started to drag Ishizu through the mud. I smacked some sense in him when Amane was in the other room, and now he's decided that he's going to sleep over because he'd "rather deal with _my_ drama than Kaiba's." He is such a pain in the ass!

Oh, and Amane drew you a picture. It looks like some sort of dragon, but I can't be sure. She's been looking at Duel Monster cards a lot lately, as you know, so she's probably getting her influence off of them. You're on the back of the dragon, according to her, but all I see are blue scribbles. Oh well, you were always better at deciphering her pictures anyway.

Love, Marik

P.S. Just because I'm the housemaid for 24 more weeks (23 by the time you get this letter) doesn't mean that I will be for the rest of our lives! You're so going to get it when you get home!

* * *

><p><strong>To: Marik Bakura<strong>

**From: Ryou Bakura**

Dear Marik,

Thank you for cleaning my study, but Amane couldn't have done _that_ much with the pencil! I bet you were mostly dealing with the pencil marks that I managed to put on my walls when tracing an excavation map. Ah, I miss my darling girl. The museum curators believe that they can intimidate me with their language and knowledge of Egyptian artifacts when, in fact, my own daughter knows more than they do. I only wish that I could tell them that. I wonder how they would react!

I miss you, too, Marik. Hopefully, time will fly as I get this stubborn mess figured out and you take care of Amane and the dog. We should really give the dog a name, shouldn't we? I mean I know that you wanted Amane to name it and all, but she doesn't really acknowledge the dog all that much. Hmm…I could really use your cleaning abilities here. I may cook far better than you (far, far better) but you clean every nook and cranny until there is no way I could possibly clean it any further. I miss having a spic and span room like ours at home, which you've probably cleaned ten times over. Honestly, Marik, I shall find you another hobby as soon as I return! Though, I must recommend weight lifting. Those muscular arms of yours are a part of the reason I married you. Just joking, of course!

If you think that coming by Joey is odd, I met Bakura at the excavation dig. Bakura was our bully during high school, remember? He seemed completely at ease, however, and even greeted me with as genuine a grin as a man like Bakura could possibly muster. Needless to say, I was surprised. He was a perfect gentleman to everyone! As for Joey, I think you should just kick him out of the house. His stupidity is not your problem, and I'd hate to have you work any more than you have to.

Amane's pictures are adorable! You're correct, it's a dragon. It's Spirit Ryu, the one that I told her was my favorite dragon because of the similarity to my name. I'm so glad she remembered! Oh, and I was walking by the shops again when I saw an idol that reminded me of you. It's enclosed, as well as some foreign candy for our little girl. You may say that I spoil her, but it remains that you don't spoil her enough! She's growing just as I would've wanted my little sister to grow up if she'd lived through the car crash. Anyway, respond quickly!

Love, Ryou

P.S. What do you mean "get it?" I'm the man of this house, therefore _I'll_ be the one _giving_ anything! May I remind you who's on a business trip and who's on house-duty?

* * *

><p><strong>To: Ryou Bakura<strong>

**From: Marik ISHTAR**

Dear Ryou,

Yeah, I cleaned all your papers and stuff. How you can function inside that study is, honestly, over my head. You're so organized with the kitchen ingredients, but it's like you've never heard of "alphabetical order" when it comes to your business files! I shooed Amane out of the basement today. She and the dog were playing with your dolls, the ones of us in particular. I still remember how you made Amane once we decided that we'd adopt her. You were so fixated on that doll like it was the last one you'd ever make…and then you made a dollhouse for us as well. This was even before we went through all the legal procedures in the first place!

Speaking of Amane, she really misses you. She keeps asking where you are, and it's so sad to hear her three-year-old voice say, "Where's Daddy, Papa?" and expect you to come through the door at any time. We managed to get three weeks in, but she only misses you more and more. Amane really liked your candy. She won't eat it because it's from you, but she always glances at it and smiles. I didn't even know that children could be so sentimental. Oh, and hey! I may have muscular, gorgeous arms and an innate cleaning ability, but there's a whole lot more to me than that! What about my dashing sense of humor? Oh, and what's with the "Marik Bakura"? I didn't take your last name because it just so happened to be the first name of that idiot bully who used to beat me up and make me uncomfortable!

Speaking of which, I think you should stay away from Bakura. He's got "bad news" written all over him. I mean, seriously! I'm kinda scared of his nice attitude. Don't forget how he nearly…molested me in high school. I just…I don't trust him after that, and I don't want you to be hurt in the same way. "Bakura" and "nice" just don't add up. Be cautious. On another note, Joey's keeping away from Amane and me and looking out of the window most of the time. He lets out mournful sighs occasionally, and I can only roll my eyes and yell at him. Seriously, why even bother to try help the guy if it all gets thrown back in your face? Kaiba, though, hasn't done anything out of the norm. I wonder what's going on…

Amane drew another picture for you. It's a…pony? I don't even know. It just has a lot of brown and a little bit of white. She won't tell me what it is, but frowns and says, "Daddy will find out!" Sometimes, she reminds me so much of Ishizu that I just don't want to question her. The idol you gave me is in our room by my nightstand. As cheesy as it sounds, it makes me think that you're here, you know?

Love, Marik

P.S. You certainly were _receiving_ the night you left!

* * *

><p><strong>To: Marik Bakura<strong>

**From: Ryou Bakura**

Dear Marik,

Every single muscle of mine has worn out. I cannot even think without my head hurting. I worked all day on the digs trying to uncover more of the artifacts that my colleagues have found, and honestly, I think we fared better before I interfered. Thank you for cleaning my study again. I'll need to look through the papers to make sure that they belong in their specific containers, but I much appreciate your efforts. My colleagues have appointed me as the personal chef. They always glance at the wedding ring and grin at me, saying that it is too bad that I'm "tied down." I'm forced to tell them that I wouldn't have it any other way! I didn't make that dollhouse for recreation, after all.

Oh, go easy on Amane, will you? I'm not there to defend her from your nagging self. She already makes her bed; she doesn't have to clean her room every day as well! Also, the way you make her clean up her toys even when she isn't done playing with them can only be considered cruel! Responsible, but cruel! And she needs sweets some of the time. You aren't indirectly preventing her from eating the candy I sent her, are you? Ah, I'm her favorite father for a reason. Hopefully, you aren't too harsh to earn that title yourself. And when will you learn that taking my name doesn't mean that you have to be associated with Bakura the bully?

Bakura is not "bad news" anymore. He offered to take my cooking duty on weekends! Trust me, he's a completely different person than he once was. I think that all he really needs is a chance; a chance that I'm willing to give. It's similar to you and Joey. You're willing to give him a chance, right? Even when he did give _me_ a beating in middle school. At any rate, don't be too judgmental with Bakura just yet. He really is kind. He even inquired about you and how you were doing. Don't worry, I didn't give him that much information other than the fact that we were married (I couldn't very well hide my left hand), but I think we could trust him. I really think we could.

I'm thrilled that you liked the idol. It's true; I'm always beside you wherever you are. I enclosed a board game that you and Amane can play together and a set of papyrus that Amane can try to paint on. You'll be able to teach her, won't you? If not, her klutzy way of drawing will remain a mystery to you! By the way, the picture she sent me was of dinosaur fossils. You were watching a dinosaur show with her, weren't you?

Love, Ryou

P.S. What on earth are you talking about? I was packing up my things the night I left, and you were the one who was playing the part of a depressed spouse waving a handkerchief into the distance! Oh, and I can't recall the last time you really gave. At least, none where I didn't take over at the end!

* * *

><p><strong>To: Ryou Bakura<strong>

**From: Marik ISHTAR**

Dear Ryou,

THE SCARIEST THING happened to me yesterday! Kaiba came to my house and said that he was looking for Joey! He said that he'd called Joey's house only to hear that Joey was missing, and he'd been visiting every house since then. I told him that I didn't know where Joey was, but he didn't seem to believe me. He literally pushed me aside, and Amane began crying. I had to comfort her while he all but tore apart our CLEAN house! I then started to talk to him in a low voice, but he only said something along the lines of "There are three seats at your table, and two couches. I _know_ that someone else is here." He didn't believe me when I showed him my ring and told him that I was married to you, but only said that I was lying. He took my ring, then, and threw it down the sink! I quickly set Amane on the counter and tried to get it, but she cowered away from Kaiba and her butt managed to turn the water on, thereby driving the ring too far down the drain for any sort of easy rescue. Kaiba knocked an elbow against the garbage disposal, and the entire kitchen seemed to catch on fire as sparks came from the sink! Bits of gold were all over the place, and I thought I would cry. I shielded Amane, but she was too scared of Kaiba to really benefit when I was in the same room with him, so I had to take her back to the living room and console her.

Amane had to sleep with me, that night. In the morning, I cleaned up the kitchen and looked around to see the damage. Kaiba had left a check for a rather large sum of money, and I figured that he found Joey. Before I could really sigh in relief, Joey came out of the closet (literally) and looked visibly shaken. He'd played some sort of tag with Kaiba, only Kaiba hadn't seen him in the room at all. He managed to hide in the broom closet without any detection on Kaiba's part, and _then_ I sighed in relief. I finally understood why he'd want to stay as far away from Kaiba as possible…the man's _scary_! I just can't fathom what Joey sees in him. The check didn't help much, but I cashed it and kept it for Amane's college fund. I managed to clear the garbage disposal, and I'm in the process of getting another ring. Hopefully, this one won't be thrown away by some psycho trillionaire.

Don't say "I told you so," because I'm not giving up on this cause! Joey really needs protection, and I'm probably the only one who can give it to him at this point. I allowed him to stay, knowing that Kaiba won't check our house for him again. He pretty much threw himself at my feet, but I only threatened him to give himself up if Kaiba ever comes back and harasses either Amane or me again.

Amane hasn't drawn any new pictures, but she still says that she misses you. She stares at the candy reverently. Recently, she's been telling Joey all about you. It only serves to make me miss you more.

Love, Marik

P.S. I totally topped more than you did, and it's not my fault that you're insatiable! I just have to deal with the fact that you want me!

* * *

><p><strong>To: Marik Ishtar<strong>

**From: Ryou Bakura**

Marik-

This is serious. You can't just allow Joey to stay where he is when Kaiba is liable to hurting you and Amane at any given moment! Kick him out of the house, NOW. I don't care if you think that Kaiba won't return. I'm coming back in eighteen weeks, and if I find that you or Amane are harmed in any way shape or form, I'll probably hunt Kaiba down and kill him myself. Dammit, Marik! Your next letter better have the heading KICKED JOEY OUT on the front!

Bakura has not been nearly so violent. In fact, he's been helping me with my job of sorting papers and such. I've been getting a lot more sleep with him as my impromptu secretary. He really has changed, Marik, unlike Joey or Kaiba. I even showed him a picture of Amane, and he commented on her cuteness. I wish you would see that he's a better person now than he ever was. Honestly, Marik, you aren't in any position to dispute that with the way you're housing a madman's lover! At least, if you're keeping Joey there, you should take Amane and go rent a motel or something! We certainly have enough money to cover for the stay. I don't want you or our daughter to be harmed! Goodness…Marik, if you don't kick Joey out, I'll be sure to take the next flight back to Domino!

Reply to me as soon as you get this message. I expect to hear that Joey is, in some way shape or form, away from you two.

Love, Ryou

* * *

><p><strong>To: Ryou Bakura<strong>

**From: Marik Ishtar**

Dear Ryou,

Look, I sent Amane to her Aunt Ishizu and Uncle Odion for the next two weeks. She's wanted to go somewhere for a while, and I need to sort things out with Joey. Don't worry about the whole "Kaiba returning" thing. Joey's going to talk to him tomorrow. I've already fully repaired the damage done from Kaiba's rampage, and there isn't a scratch anywhere. The ring came in, engraved and all. It's exactly like the one you gave me, so it's all good. Honestly, I think that Joey should stay away from Kaiba. Kaiba seems to be the abusive type, and he even tore down one of the cupboards! The hinges weren't easy to reinstall!

The house is really creepy at night when there's no family in it. When you left, I'd allowed Amane to sleep with the dog because I felt protective over her in her little room across the hallway and I didn't want her to feel afraid. Well, now that she's gone, I'm freaked out and every creak in the house reminds me of that one scary movie we watched where the footsteps of the demon kept coming closer and closer. I won't give up on Joey the way you should give up on Bakura, but I still am anxious for you to come home.

Speaking of which, I can't believe that I have to remind you, _yet again_, that Bakura nearly assaulted me back in high school. How dare you say that I have no say in the dispute! Bakura is someone that you shouldn't be friends with even if he spontaneously decided to change. If your own husband is unable to forgive, then why would you?

Yugi and Téa came today and asked if I'd seen Joey. I told them that I knew where he was, but I wasn't allowed to disclose the information upon my word. They told me the details about Joey and Kaiba's relationship: Joey went over to KaibaCorp to finally ask Kaiba out (after seven years of dodging everything), and he was rejected almost immediately. Crushed, Joey ran off, and Yugi had to talk some sense into Kaiba. Once Kaiba saw the error of his ways, he tried to find Joey only to fail. Numerous times. Joey kept contact through local cyber cafés, but he hopped from one to another with no clear pattern that Kaiba could not keep up contact with him this way. Eventually, Joey landed at my house, and Kaiba was left with no contact. This caused Kaiba to check the houses off all the people Joey knew, and he had a search warrant and everything. Honestly, I think that this has all been blown out of proportion, but I still think that I could somehow manage to make this work. I forced Joey to schedule an appointment, and he's going over to KaibaCorp at one tomorrow to make amends.

Don't worry about me, and don't stop your business trip on my account. I know that you've wanted to go on this trip for a while, so have fun. Preferably without Bakura. That guy is serious bad news, Ryou! Don't wait for him to betray you like he did me!

Oh yeah, and Amane drew a picture that I could actually understand! It's enclosed with the letter.

Love, Marik

P.S. I take it that you give me control of the house by the way you gave up the argument!

* * *

><p><strong>To: Marik Bakura<strong>

**From: Ryou Bakura**

Dear Marik,

I'll relent just this once, but know that I won't be content until you kick Joey out. We both know that Kaiba's wrath is impulsive and often dangerous to those who he doesn't share a close connection with him. You, Marik, are a prime victim. I know that I can't stop you when you constantly bring up your disapproval of Bakura, but all I ask is that you remain cautious. I'm glad that you sent Amane away, but that still only halves my worry.

At any rate, my dealings have been good for this week. There's only sixteen weeks left until this trip is over, and we've already covered more than what was on schedule. Admittedly, Bakura's help is quite a big factor. I know that you don't like him, and I'm sorry that I said that you had no say. I appointed Bakura to his own cabin, and though it makes work a bit more slow, I regard it as a suitable compensation for Amane's two-week vacation. I don't mean to play unfair, but it is necessary to make you understand how hard it is to sever friendship. In order for me to sever my friendship with Bakura, you must kick Joey out. That's the only way that this situation can be resolved.

Now, besides the drama between Joey and Kaiba, what else has been going on in your life? I've appraised many valuable pieces for the museum and I know that your sister will be pleased with my findings. I'm glad to report that my colleagues are beyond impressed with my knowledge of their various artifacts, and I'm really the only one that really knows their worth. I often end up setting the price lower than what I'd expected to pay, but such is the job of an adequate businessman. I've enclosed a spyglass for you; it's an ancient relic that I'm sure you'll like. It reminds me of our second date, where you wished that you could see the buoy that always floats in the distance. Well, I could've gotten you binoculars, but I thought that this was far more of a gift! For Amane (at least, when she returns) I got a set of watercolors that she can use to paint more pictures. By the way, you've taught her how to draw, haven't you? I recognized the image of the three of us in front of our house almost immediately.

For the last time, don't worry about Bakura and me. We're friends, but I don't trust my life with him or anything of the sort. Relax and enjoy the empty house. It means less work for you, after all!

Love, Ryou

P.S. You've just acknowledged in your last postscript that I have control to give. I haven't let you win the argument, and therefore I haven't relinquished control!

* * *

><p><strong>To: Ryou ISHTAR<strong>

**From: Marik ISHTAR**

Dear Ryou,

Why not share MY last name? It's clearly better than yours and has nothing to do with _him_. I've enclosed the name-change license, so please read and sign accordingly! I've already filled out my part back at home, and I've highlighted the areas that you need to fill out. I think that it's a great idea, and it doesn't have to mean that I'm dominant (even though I _am_) because we'd be considered even: you proposed to me and I gave you my name! There, see? Simple as that!

I'm not talking about _him_ anymore, because that just makes us both more upset. Amane's coming back tomorrow, and there's been no sign of Kaiba at all. Joey wasn't able to see him because he utterly disappeared. Seriously. I think he vanished off the face of the Earth. Even Mokuba's kinda worried about him and his whereabouts because Kaiba somehow managed to hack his way out of his own tracking devices. Joey's actually sadder than usual, and he's devouring cartons of ice cream like there's nothing else in the world to eat. I told him to cheer up, but there's only so much I can do with a lovesick guy. You know what I mean, after all, I had to cheer you up when you fell for Yugi in high school but he ended up being straight and into Téa. Luckily, you found someone ten times better, handsomer, smarter, and cooler than the midget! Well, back on topic, I couldn't very well make Joey fall in love with me, so I offered to take him and Amane to the amusement park tomorrow when Amane came back. He refused, but eventually, I forced him to agree. It was surprisingly easy when I threatened to put his current whereabouts all over the Internet!

Amane, obviously, hasn't made anything as she was at her aunt and uncle's, but _I _made you something instead. It's my best rendition of me, so don't laugh at it! It wasn't easy to make!

Love, Marik

P.S. Of course you've relinquished control! You didn't argue in one message, and therefore you lost, and _therefore_ you've got no control! So there!

* * *

><p><strong>To: Marik Ishtar<strong>

**From: Ryou Ishtar**

Dear Marik,

I concede with your idea, after all, sharing a name with my colleague has gotten increasingly awkward. Just joking! I've always loved your last name, and this entire time, I admit, has been a ploy in order to have you offer it to me! I don't want to be considered the husband that has the same last name as your childhood enemy! And…well, I believe that it's your turn to say "I told you so."

It turns out that Bakura was a liar all along. While I was asleep, he'd snuck into my house and made off with all the artifacts that I'd gained with my wit and tongue. I tried to chase him down, but he was gone. Far gone. I believe one of the flight attendants said that he saw him escape on a flight to Australia. There's nowhere I can recover the lost artifacts…Marik, I've been so stupid. I'm so, so sorry. You were right all along. Bakura was someone that should never have been trusted. I'm not hurt physically, but my pride is irreparably damaged. My only consolation is that I'll be able to make the minimal requirement for Ishizu's necessary means, but I still grieve over the priceless artifacts that I've lost through my own stupidity. I'll be anticipating your lecture, and I know that I deserve it. It was lucky enough that no one else got physically hurt. I'll be back in fourteen weeks anyhow, so hopefully more good news flows on your side than it does on mine.

I continually stare at the picture you drew me with reverence. It's a small beacon in the dismal plain. I've sent you the most recent artifact I procured, and I regret to say that I'll need all the other priceless gifts that I sent you as artifacts for Ishizu's museum. I'm so, so sorry Marik. I can't express how sorry I am. Humiliation burns in my core, and I wish that I didn't have to revoke the very gifts that I gave you. Honestly, I feel horrible.

Hopefully you hadn't become so attached to the artifacts, and hopefully you'll find it in your heart to forgive me. My error is among the worst, and I can't make up for it in any way. Not only did I doubt you, but I also took back my gifts…

Please reply. I await earnestly.

Love, Ryou

* * *

><p><strong>To: Ryou Ishtar<strong>

**From: Marik Ishtar**

My darling Ryou,

There is no way I can think any higher of you. I love you, and don't think for one second that any mistake you make will change that. I have no qualms in giving the artifacts to Ishizu, because though they are pretty, I'd much rather have your company and happiness. The lovely paint set that you sent over to me in your last letter is just as great of a gift as any of the priceless treasures; now Amane and I can work together to paint you the perfect picture! I've made a rudimentary sketch of what we'll paint, but you'll be receiving the painting in the next letter.

I'm, honestly, relieved that you are not hurt. The priceless artifacts are a loss, but they don't compensate for the loss of your life. Now we know never to trust Bakura. He'll only betray us over and over again if we allow ourselves to trust him. Oh Ryou, now I know how you feel! I just want to take a plane and head over to your excavation site right now! Who knows whether Bakura will be back? Please Ryou, keep your eyes peeled and don't let any suspicious activity go past your kind heart. And don't worry about your mistake. I made mine when I allowed Joey to stay and Kaiba came and desecrated our house. Maybe our kind hearts are our folly…

I love you so much. Don't you dare think any less of yourself. I really, really want you to understand this, so I'm sending five letters in different postal services just in case some get stolen or lost somehow. If you have five of the same letters, well, now you know why. I'm there for you, and Amane can't wait until you come back. Don't worry about the bastard Bakura. He's not worth your grief, and neither are the artifacts. Like I said, the thing that matters is that you're safe and alive. Don't worry.

Kaiba's reappeared again, and he's scouring Domino once more. I sent Joey to a motel in a city about sixty miles from ours, because I know that Kaiba will come to our house again. He saw Joey's name in the ticket count at the amusement park we went to, and he's searching heedlessly. I plan to have a talk with him when Amane's at school about his obsession. No doubt he's guilt-ridden the way you are, so I'll just have to remedy that just as I hope this letter remedies yours. Be happy, Ryou. You're safe, you're healthy, and this is a minor setback that will soon pass, and you know it.

Amane drew you a small picture of a heart, and I added a bit of my own touch to it. I hope you love it. Write back to me as soon as possible.

Love, Marik

* * *

><p><strong>To: Marik Ishtar<strong>

**From: Ryou Ishtar**

Dear Marik,

Thank you for your letters. Your response means the world to me, and I'm glad that you're in my life. Actually, I found one of Kaiba's associates wandering about Alaska, and believe it or not, Bakura had stolen KaibaCorp's duel disk plans as well! I believe he's up to something, though I don't know what it is. Three of the six months have already passed, and we have to uncover the mystery before it's too late! Knowing that Bakura waits to strike, it can't be too long before he harms the world, and if he does, it'll be all my fault.

I think that we'll need all of our friends' help. It seems that Kaiba is an integral part in this. I know that he disappeared of the face of the Earth, as you put it, for some reason having to do with Bakura. You've probably already talked to him about Joey, but ask him about this as well. I'll send you a list of the stolen artifacts. This would be useful because Bakura had earnestly told me which ones I should barter for, and so they each have some sort of value for him. And please, please don't put yourself in danger! Just let Kaiba handle everything, alright? Promise me in your response!

So far, business has been going as well as before. It seems I'd overestimated the amount of assistance Bakura had been giving me. I've got enough artifacts to satisfy Ishizu's demands, but not to the extent that would satisfy my abilities. Then again, if we're able to get back the artifacts from whatever Bakura's planning, I'd fulfill my personal expectations as well. Hopefully, one day soon…

Amane's little heart with her portrait in the center is right next to your own portrait. I admire your drawing ability, and I miss you two even more every time my eyes lay on those two pictures. I'm not taking this long of a trip anytime soon, especially as trouble seems to follow us whenever we're separated. Honestly, at this point, I'm far more worried about you and Amane than I am about my own welfare.

I hope that you enjoy the paperweights I sent you. They were sculpted out of stone, and the lion is Amane's while the eagle is yours. They symbolize what I value most about each of your qualities: Amane's strength and your freedom.

Love, Ryou

P.S. I shall assume that I have the rightful control now, as always!

* * *

><p><strong>To: Ryou Ishtar<strong>

**From: Marik Ishtar**

Dear Ryou,

I called Kaiba as soon as you mentioned him in your letter and gave him the lowdown. Kaiba has his jet ready to go, and I have a radio in the house to monitor any sort of break-ins and the like. Amane's room is fully guarded by Kaiba's female coworkers, so don't worry. Kaiba thinks that he has a lead and Mokuba is there to help him, so Kaiba's going to Australia while Mokuba's going to your area. Er…well, you probably already know all this, considering I'm handing the letter to Mokuba to deliver to you!

Here's the deal so far, because I know Mokuba will probably miss some details. I helped uncover Bakura's intentions: he wants to use your artifacts to summon a sort of trading card to resurrect a certain monster. I knew that he was a crazy idiot, but I just don't want anyone hurt (or any of the artifacts harmed) in his loony attempts at resurrecting a creature that doesn't exist. I have the pictures of the artifacts that you sent to Kaiba. They all depict some sort of monster whose body ends in a dragon's head, right? Diabound…I think it's called. Anyway, Bakura must've wanted to resurrect Diabound really badly. I remember his little obsession with dragons in high school, right? That's why he "liked" me so much; I had a dragon picture on my back. Oh! Yugi just told me something interesting! There's going to be a solar eclipse in Australia in eight weeks, three weeks before your business trip is officially over, and I don't think that Bakura's departure is any coincidence. Yugi says that Diabound is a creature of darkness, therefore the solar eclipse is a perfect time to resurrect him. Australia has longer nights since it's winter, and a solar eclipse on top of that maximizes the amount of darkness in the day. "Diabound" is obviously only a card, but Bakura is bound to become violent when the solar eclipse is over and he finds out that he was wrong. It's just a matter of finding out where he _is_ in Australia that's the problem. The fact that he didn't go to Antarctica or Alaska, both places where the darkness can run year-round, is probably an indication that he knew he wouldn't survive the temperatures. If I had to make an assumption, Bakura would go as far south as he possibly could without freezing his ass off.

Now that you heard that entire rant, I'm going to talk about Amane and take your mind off of all this crap. Amane's been missing you A LOT. She's got this new habit of waking up and coming to your side of the bed and lying where you were sleeping. I even caught her holding those cards that you always talk to her about, particularly the Princess of Tsurugi one. Sometimes she even tries to make me make up stories about the cards like you do when she's not tired. I tried my hand at that but miserably failed. Your spontaneous imagination is way over my head. You might want to try a hand at writing stories instead of going off and leaving your family for half a year. Okay, yes, I'm pouting, but honestly, I miss you and Amane misses you, too. Hopefully, you won't have to stay longer because of Bakura's stupidity.

Love, Marik

P.S. Your naiveté about who has control only makes you seem more subordinate, I'll have you know!

* * *

><p><strong>To: Marik Ishtar<strong>

**From: Ryou Ishtar**

Marik-

I'm writing this incredibly fast on a jeep, so excuse any harshness and gramer mistakes and spelling errors. Your right, Bakura's southward. Don't know where exact. Kaiba's on a plane going there. I'm going by car to catch any suspicios activity. Don't worry, I'm fine. Kaiba's got a team to help us catch the bastard. Weaseled it out of him: Bakura threatened Joey with death if Kaiba didn't listen to him. Kaiba's resourses were obviously useful to Bakura, but he underestimated Kaiba's wrath, the idiot. Should've known he was rash. I have to go now, love you and Amane!

-Ryou

* * *

><p><strong>To: Ryou Ishtar<strong>

**From: Marik Ishtar**

Dear Ryou,

I actually feel kind of ripped off! I send you a plethora of information and I only get a crappy paragraph of nonsense in return? Not to mention the nonsense only heightens my worry! I brought Joey home straight away, but I don't want to send a letter to Kaiba just yet. Joey agreed with me; Kaiba would take himself out of his mission against Bakura if he knew that Joey wasn't in any actual harm. I just hope that we don't get caught because you're the one that Kaiba will put his wrath upon…

I got some more information. Apparently, around the time where Pegasus' Duel Monsters franchise was spreading, Australia was home to a cult dedicated to the card game. They pretty much worshipped Pegasus like a god and took on his monsters as their "forms" (a.k.a. they wore costumes of Duel Monsters and never took them off.) When Pegasus tried to convince them that the cult was unnecessary, they only railed against him and declared him a "traitor." I guess Bakura has something to do with this cult, though I can't imagine what his motive would be. You told me that he'd been fixated with dragons since he was a little kid, but I don't know why he would've chosen Diabound instead of an actual dragon. Do _you_ know anything about it? You were friends with him for the longest time, after all. Did he say anything suspicious to you while he was buttering you up? Anything about the sculptures or Diabound? I'll do more research on my end, but lead is kinda ending…

Amane drew a picture of you, but you're crying. I asked her why she drew that and she said that Daddy missed his little princess. Then she started to cry and I had to comfort her. It's strange how you used to always comfort her and I would watch from the doorway as you eased one of her nightmares. Now, I can't imagine letting her cry or waiting for you to do the job. It's just weird how things have changed. I never knew that your side of the job could be so hard until I actually experienced it. You were Amane's babysitter most of the time, and I was always cleaning. Now that I understand how hard it is to raise a child properly, I can empathize. Strange how things work out.

Love, Marik

* * *

><p><strong>To: Marik Ishtar<strong>

**From: Ryou Ishtar**

Dear Marik,

I'm sorry you feel "ripped off," but you must understand that this is a dire situation, and I have a sneaking suspicion that you are involved. I'm glad that Joey is with you because it seems like he can protect you in my stead. You'll need all the protection you can get; from your information, I think Bakura's far more into you than he is into anyone else.

Your tattoo is a dead giveaway, for the first instance. Bakura is more fascinated with that than anything else. Even when I was with him, all he would ask about was your tattoo and your jewelry. He also wondered if you'd fathered Amane, and at one point, he even asked if you'd given birth to her. I was baffled by his queries and I kept rejecting them, but it seemed like he wouldn't listen. I think, now that you mentioned his past, that he wishes to BE a dragon. Diabound is a half-serpent, half-man monster, a transition to what Bakura wants. That's my theory anyway, and it makes sense. Remember how he would always put aloe on his legs? Diabound doesn't have legs, but a dragon instead. Bakura's burns, I think, were self-inflicted. Somehow, he wanted the fire to turn his legs into a serpent head. That's what I believe, anyway. The only thing that confuses me is that Diabound, if I recall, was not capable of breathing fire. In fact, he was fixated more on dragons than he was on serpents. Is there some sort of connection?

We've located Bakura's general vicinity because we estimated the area he'd have to be in order to make it to the area of the solar eclipse in time. It's in the desert area of southern Australia. That's still not much information to go by, but I believe that it is good enough. According to Kaiba, the border of the desert is being monitored at his discretion. I bet the Australian government is getting rich off of his money. Their permission for such a large expanse of land is undoubtedly expensive. One denizen claimed that he'd seen Bakura buy some mystical charms from a local gift shop. When we asked the owner of the gift shop what he'd bought, however, there was no clue. That gift shop was more of a shack, as the desert climate didn't allow for grand buildings that would need plentiful air conditioning. The owner hadn't taken inventory of his items in months, apparently, and when we went back to check again, he'd packed up and left. Kaiba was about to start another search, but I managed to convince him that the disappearance was not our concern at the moment.

You have every bit of a hand in Amane's development as I do. You may not have coddled her the way I had, but you provided discipline and fairness. You're the strength of the family; the stability that keeps us rooted together. Don't doubt your importance, especially since Amane has turned into a fine young girl! I am, however, glad that you've learned how big of a part I am in the family. I can't wait to fill in my role once more…it's really been too long.

Love, Ryou

* * *

><p><strong>To: Ryou Ishtar<strong>

**From: Yugi Moto**

Ryou-

Marik's been taken. Amane is safe with me, but Joey called us and by the time we got to your house, Marik was gone and Joey was flashing in and out of consciousness. Marik said something about Bakura having a hand in this before he disappeared. I dearly hope so, because in that case, we have some sort of a lead as to where he might be. You may want to hurry your search. There's only four more weeks until Bakura calls his solar eclipse ritual. Marik may or may not be with him, as Kaiba hasn't reported any sort of disturbance in the security system signaling his escape. I think it was Bakura. Some way, somehow, Bakura got a hold of Marik. You need to find him, and fast. Once again, Amane's fine. Téa's taking care of her and hiding her in our room.

As for any new information, I've found that Diabound can absorb other monsters for power. Bakura is probably trying to get it to absorb the dragon and whatever else is on Marik's back. How many pictures did you say there were? What sort of dragon and other monsters are on Marik's back that makes his scars so desirable? Do you know?

Respond as soon as you can,

Yugi Moto

* * *

><p><strong>To: Yugi Moto<strong>

**From: Ryou Ishtar**

Yugi-

Thank you for your letter. We found a trail of jewelry; was Marik able to read my letter before he left? Bakura will surely notice! I think he might punish Marik if he realizes the hints he left us! Kaiba's men are actively tracking them. Please, _please_ Yugi! Send us any tidbit of information you may have. I can't bear losing Marik…especially if it was my fault that he was missing in the first place. I don't even want to _think_ about how I would feel if he got hurt…I'm such a mess right now. Just…please help me find him in some way…

There is a small, circular perimeter around the area that Bakura may be hiding: just 500 kilometers in diameter. We're earnestly searching the area, and I'm desperate to find even the smallest clue. It's not easy, the place is mostly desert and the weather is able to make even the strongest person fall. Kaiba's a fool, making his men wear dark suits and scour the area with the sun at their fully clothed backs. I tried to talk to him, but he won't listen to me at all unless I mention some sort of hint. I don't how long I can stand his cruel treatment of his men. It's hindering our progress!

The creatures on Marik's back are Slifer the Sky Dragon, The Winged Dragon of Ra, and Obelisk the Tormentor. They're horribly strong monsters, which is obviously the reason Bakura wants to absorb their powers into Diabound. You may find more information about them; I don't know much about them because I've never owned the cards, and Marik never was interested in them. Excuse the tearstains, please. The thought of Marik…in some sort of danger…it really is my entire fault. He had warned me about Bakura several times, but I hadn't listened. Oh, if only I had! This entire danger wouldn't have happened if I'd just kept my distance from the bastard…!

Write to me as soon as possible,

Ryou Ishtar

P.S. By the time your letter reaches me, I'm sure we'll have located Bakura. We'll still need any help we can get in case we don't find him.

* * *

><p><strong>To: Daddy<strong>

**From: Amane**

Deer Daddy,

Ant Taya wanted me too rite too u too say that Im alrite. She says that Papa is with yoo and I wanna come too! Uncle Yoogee is nice, but I miss Papa. Why did yoo and Papa leev? Im scared off being alone. If yoo come back, pleez dont go away agan. I miss yoo and Papa. Breeng him home too! Uncle Yoogee says that he is sending a pakaj too yoo abowt dool monster cards.

Love,

Amane

* * *

><p><strong>To: Yugi Moto<strong>

**From: Ryou and Marik Ishtar**

Yugi Moto-

Thank you for your packet of information, and tell my dear girl that I miss her and love her. Tell her that Marik will be back, I ensure it. I found him in record time, a week before the solar eclipse! Bakura managed to escape with three of the stolen artifacts, but I managed to recover the major ones! Whatever Bakura's planning will obviously be stunted in effect. Thanks for the packet of information; it revealed a lot of his motives, and now we understand what the ritual was all about! Marik would like to write his correspondence now.

TELL AMANE THAT HER PAPA LOVES HER, TOO! I'm so proud of her for being so brave and cool! At any rate, Bakura surprised us all by escaping down an underground pathway just when Ryou and Kaiba arrived. I was bound to the corner, but he hadn't done anything to me except take off my shirt. He wanted to read the hieroglyphics on my back because he heard Ryou say that I couldn't give birth, apparently, so his molestation attempt was all for naught. I was super confused, but I just glad that I didn't have to deal with all that. I think Bakura's power source was this jar of ink. He was muttering to himself crazily about how he would "avenge his people" or something with the special ink he made out of items way too gross to name. At one point, he even found camel droppings and mixed them in! It was the most disgusting concoction ever, and I hope I never have to smell it again. That ink is what he was going to use to draw a resurrection symbol on the ground. His plan will surely be foiled if the ink is destroyed because he spent his entire lifetime making it. At one point, he even managed to get a hold of a thirty-carat diamond, something that was undoubtedly hard to get, knowing his background. The papers you gave us make sense; there is a ritual that calls for almost the exact same thing that Bakura's collecting, only it's about a creature named Zorc. I bet Zorc and Diabound have something in common with each other…oh, now it's Ryou's turn.

I've figured out why Bakura's so fixated on Zorc. His family was positively in love with the idea of a monster with a human-serpent form that could steal others' powers. Bakura was far more interested in dragons, and when his family died, his grief was overwhelming. He didn't seem to change at school, other than the whole molesting Marik fiasco. I feel sorry for him, and I still feel that he's still able to change. But I am _never_ endangering Marik or Amane again. Bakura's better off at some mental institution or, at least, with Atem. For some reason, I think that pairing the two rivals together will allow for understanding. That's assuming that Bakura comes peacefully…

While Ryou believes _that_, _I_ think that he should die, as harsh as it sounds! At least he'd be with his family again! At this point, I think that that's the only thing that'll truly liberate him. Of course, I'll concede with Ryou's point of view regarding Atem, but I just don't think it'll really work out. Hopefully, it does. We're headed to the site of the solar eclipse right now. We'll get back to you as soon as we can!

-Ryou and Marik Ishtar

* * *

><p><strong>Deer Diaree,<strong>

Papa and Daddy came back frum there trip early and promised never too leeve mee again! I was hapy that they came back. We had a partee with cake and balloon. Daddy held me when I went too sleep, and Papa got me cake when I got too tired. I went too sleep and when I woak up, they were their! I was sooo hapy. Uncle Yoogee and Ant Taya were their and so was Uncle Kiba and Uncle Joee. Ant Mai was their too, and Ant Isheezoo was their with Uncle Odeeon and this weerd guy naymed Shadee. Daddy said that we shud invite sumwun else, but Papa said no. They didnt argue about it tho and I was hapy. It was a good day. We evun mayd our dog named Spirit beecuz if we put it with Papa's name, its Spirit Ryou!

Love,

Amane

* * *

><p><strong>(AN): **Actually, it was harder to misspell in Amane's letter than it was to write all the others :/. The plot threw me for a loop, though. I knew that I wanted Bakura to be a bad guy (because he's cool like that) but I didn't know how. Eh...I think this turned out okay. Let me know!


	11. Kingdom

**(A/N): **I'm sorry that this took forever and a day! I was on vacation and (at this point, the author rattles off the list of excuses).

At any rate, this story was borne from a desire to experiment with primitive emotions and feelings. In other words, this happened after the author read the Lord of the Flies and wanted a happier ending.

Thanks to Lazy Gaga and AllenWalker4Ever for reviewing! You guys are part of the reason this story's alive!

Kingdom

The leaves glinted in the sunlight, and the small boy watched in fascination as one fell lazily into the dirty puddle below. The puddle was a remnant of the vicious storm that had come to pass in this easy-going town, and the boy stared at the green leaves on the ground, victim to the storm's mighty rage.

Behind him loomed the skeletal remains of buildings and people, once part of a bustling city prized for its healthy atmosphere. Yes, he _could_ see that even the rats did not prevail against the storm. He _could_ see that all his friends and family were crushed under the man-made structures that his early ancestors had hewn from their surroundings. He _could_ see, but he wouldn't. He dare not.

The leaves were heavy with dew, as if they were protecting the water within their wombs. He didn't pick them up. He didn't know why, but somehow he knew that the leaves mustn't be touched. Instead, he inspected a trail of fire ants moving harshly across the stems, never once breaking their strides. As they began to consume the leaves, he swallowed, and turned away.

It wasn't long until the sun was low enough to touch the ground. He slowly rose to his tiny feet and turned to face the debris. "When the sun touches the ground," his mother had told him, "…you must come straight home." The wet grass soon turned into slushy concrete, akin to mud but with distinct chunks of what were once neatly arranged sidewalk squares. He turned left, right, right again, then continued straight. There was no doormat. The door was off its hinges, and fell on its side when he touched it. The light switches didn't work.

But his legs didn't stop moving. He knew that there were smelly piles at the corner of the house, and he knew that he shouldn't see the remains of what were once proud humans. His feet kept going, up the large pile of what used to be the first section of the staircase. Beside that, there was an even larger pile that used to be the second story. There were two beds, one missing a leg and the other completely ruined. He crawled his way to _his_ bed, the one missing a leg, the one that had a pillow as pale as his hair and a blanket as brown as his eyes. The boy stared at the sky.

"Mother? I'm home," he croaked, because he was supposed to do so. Then, Ryou Bakura curled up and allowed himself to cry.

* * *

><p>On some days, he would scream. He would bash his fists onto the rubble, making the rubble transform into smaller rubble. There was no one to tell him to calm down, nor anyone who could feed him or quench his thirst. Ryou screamed because he was alone. His hands made cryptic messages, and his eyes whirled left and right, and he thought he would <em>kill<em> anyone that disturbed his rampage. The fire ants were in combat with his flaming fury. He squashed them repeatedly, imagining cries of protest and despair from the harsh soldiers.

He would treat himself to other animal sacrifices. Any animal that dared to cross his march of rage was offered as a sacrifice to his reign. Birds, rats, and even brush foxes were offered as tribute. With a shard of mirror as his sacred tool, because all the scissors and knives had become twisted and broken, Ryou would aim for the neck and perform a clean strike, then leave the body where he found it. On certain days, if he were angered enough, the boy would hack at the limbs of the animal and laugh as its blood drained from its body. He would take the animal by its paws or wings, nailing the appendages to a slab of wood obtained from the tarnished remains of a grocery store. He displayed the bodies on top of the water tower, raising the slab of wood to the air with a roar.

"I am the king!" he would cry. "Do not disrupt my reign unless you wish to perish!" He would shake the board roughly with emphasis, relishing the sickening sound of a corpse thumping against wood. When the blood dripped onto his pale face and hair, he would laugh. He would utilize his strength, whatever his body of seven years could muster, and tear the animal from the board, leaving its paws or wings nailed and brutally torn from the rest of its body. He would fling it as far as he could to the ground. He flung hard enough to break most of the sacrifice's bones upon impact, hard enough to force him to cling to the railing around the tower to prevent pitching forward himself.

That was when he truly felt like a king.

* * *

><p>He kept a cold distance from the garden he grew. The gleaming plants were something he couldn't touch. An entire community thrived with his meager assistance. Watering the plants, uprooting the weeds, all seemed trivial in the face of the life the plant village lead. They kept up their self-maintenance, taking in the sunlight and the chemicals they needed to bear their fruits and vegetables: their children.<p>

Ryou felt like a thief, stealing children from their proud, upright parents for his own consumption. If the plants had been human, the children would've been taking their first steps when they were consumed. They would've been speaking their first words, laughing with life, when their premature ends occurred with the formidable white threats lining his mouth. He couldn't look at his garden without some degree of shame. He was taken from his own family, and here he was doing the same to the community he had nurtured. He was no better than a thief.

The thievery continued when he tried to compensate for the loss of the fruits and vegetables with shards of glass taken from the destroyed households. He intended to build a greenhouse for the plants by sealing the glass with what little glue the supply store's wares had, but in doing so he was stealing from the tombs of many families, including his own. The storm had left him nothing, so he could only take things from others. Tears would race down his face when he cut his fingers with the glass, but he knew that it was only what he deserved for stealing in the first place. Each time he looked back to find that there wasn't a shred of window-glass left in any of the houses, he could only stare in regret.

That was when he truly felt like a thief.

* * *

><p>He was eight when he'd decided that he'd build his own house instead of sleeping on his bed turned away from the remains of his family. Taking, no, <em>stealing<em> more rubble from the tombs, he began constructing a fort using mud as plaster. Ryou only remembered that he and his sister would always make forts such as these with rocks and mud, always making his mother angry. His mother had always yelled at them when they left tracks on the carpet, saying that they had a nice, clean house and that building mud-houses was a poor activity. The boy now understood the weight of her words, especially since he hardly had a house anymore.

The mud was thick, as he'd poured on very little water. He shaved the walls with his shard until their edges were horizontal and began making his house. He stacked the walls on top of each other and applied the mud onto the cracks with a swipe of his hands. The sun rose high and his labor steadfastly grew with sweat drenching his skin. His tattered shirt was wrapped around his head to catch the beads, the way he'd seen the laborers work when his city had thrived. The sores on his hands, caused by handling his mirror shard and ripping weeds, reopened. He worked on, knowing that the hot sun would dry the mud quicker. He shaped his house piece by piece, putting carpet fragments on the floor to create a patchwork rug for his feet. The roof was the hardest part. He'd gotten a chair that had somehow survived and placed it alongside a wall, then continued his mud-sealing technique. He was able to finish the roof on his fourth month of labor, and was eager to move inside the makeshift house. He'd made it about the size of his own room so that his bed could fit. Marveling at his creation, he immediately fell asleep on the floor.

It began raining that night. Ryou's eyes opened and he gasped. His house was in danger!

With a start, he ran outside and saw that mud was rolling down slowly, but surely. With a grimace he ran around the dead city, finding scraps of tarp, tent, and shower curtains. Throwing them onto his shelter and then running back to find more, Ryou hoped with all his heart that the damage wasn't too severe. He finally fell inside his house, exhausted. He'd done all that he could, and the morning would bring the update regarding his house's condition.

The sunlight awoke him. Immediately, he knew that there was something wrong. After all, his house had no windows, so light wasn't supposed to be shining through.

Rushing outside, he noticed with a sigh of relief that the damage wasn't that bad. The roof was a bit cracked, but could be easily fixed. Instead of lingering any longer, Ryou set out to fix it. He took up some freshly made mud and filled in the cracks. He then looked over to the waterproof material. With narrowed eyes, he examined the shreds. It was only by chance that his shelter had survived the rainfall without much leakage, but that would probably not occur again. Ryou thought about how his mother used to sew his clothes together when he'd caused a tear with his constant ventures. With a needle and a spool of thread, he could sew the waterproof materials together in the same way. Immediately, he began to search for a needle. It took an entire day before he managed to find it, leaving him no time to sew the materials together before the rainfall at night. He sighed in frustration. Piling the waterproof materials onto his house, he sat inside and awaited the rain.

As predicted, the showers came and beat upon the house. Ryou hissed slightly when he felt a bit of mud drop from the roof onto his cheek. The house he had labored over for half of his eighth year was going to fall apart into bits and pieces if the rainfall kept coming. Ryou scowled at the sky, not for the first time. A deep pain thudded in his chest, one of loss and hatred. The storm had taken away his family and friends in one fell swoop, while the rain was chipping away at what was left.

In the morning, Ryou found that most of the damage was done to the sides of the house, particularly the left side where he'd neglected to adequately cover the wall. He groaned. It would take at least a week's work to fix the damage. He set those thoughts aside and began to sew the waterproof material together. Ryou recalled his mother sewing the clothes repeatedly, moving up and down through the two pieces of cloth. He began his work, pricking his fingers more than a couple of times and testing the strength of the resulting stitches.

He had to triple-stitch the material when he realized that the string ripped apart without any support. The task took all of his concentration, and by the time he was done, his back ached from sitting in a hunched position and concentrating on sewing the material.

When he threw it over his house, he was satisfied. The material didn't cover the entire house, but it was enough. He could use roof shingles to fill the places that the material didn't reach. With a fond smile, Ryou dubbed the material the "Waterproof Quilt." Then, remembering his mother and starting to cry, he called it the "Tear-Catcher."

* * *

><p>When he turned twelve, Ryou was found. He was on the water tower, flinging down a bird, when he saw movement in his garden. His eyes widened in fury. The garden had expanded to hold nuts and herbs, and Ryou had worked hard to get those in. He roared from on top of the water tower, sounding like an animal. When the movement didn't cease, he immediately dashed to the ladder leading down from the water tower and climbed down as fast as he could. When he reached the bottom, he ran at a sprint to the garden. Running under the greenhouse glass dome, he suddenly stopped with his eyes wide in surprise.<p>

There was no animal intruder, but a _boy_. Ryou stared at him with apprehension, and the boy stared back with wide eyes. Ryou noticed dimly that they were purple, an unusual color from what he could remember from five years ago. The boy got up slowly, taking into account Ryou's appearance. Since he'd grown from his old clothes, Ryou took to walking with a waterproof jacket he'd fashioned slung over his shoulder and tattered shorts that allowed for movement, but also held pockets in case he needed to carry tools. Ryou, in turn, appraised this new object of his reign. The boy was decorated with shiny, golden jewelry all over his body. His shirt looked worn with age, but a brilliant purple still showed through. His pants were unremarkable but torn in many places, evidence of his long journey to Ryou's city. Ryou, of course, assumed that the boy wanted to visit his beautiful kingdom to become a subject.

The boy stared with wide eyes similar to that of a deer's. Ryou reached out and touched his face tentatively, making sure that the boy was real. The effect was instantaneous. The boy yelped and skittered away from him, his purple eyes wildly darting left and right. Ryou didn't take to disobedience, and he immediately lunged and successfully pinned the boy onto the ground.

"What are you doing?" the boy shrieked. "Let go! I'm sorry I ate your tomato! I was just hungry!" Ryou glanced at the garden, seeing the entrails of the tomato-child right in front its parents. He grew angrier, twisting the boy around and shoving his back to the ground.

"How dare you eat the fruit in front of its own parents!" he screamed. "Have you no shame, you murderer? You are in need of a punishment! I hereby denounce you as my servant!" The boy struggled for a full minute, and Ryou began to beat him to make him comply. After tears and blood, the boy lay shivering with his head turned away from his face. Tears tracked his cheeks, and blood ran from a wound on his mouth. Ryou narrowed his eyes.

"What is your name?" he asked harshly. The boy whimpered, fresh tears coming out of his eyes. "Speak, servant! What is your name?"

"M-Marik!" Marik cried. "I'm sorry!" Ryou stood and pulled Marik up roughly.

"This is no time to be sorry," he said roughly, unable to look at the beaten boy next to him. "There is work to be done." Marik sniffled, but jerked out of Ryou's grip.

"I'm not your servant!" he yelled. "Don't hurt me! I'll leave and find somewhere _else_ to eat!" The boy ran away just as the words sunk into Ryou's head. Ryou suddenly felt a wave of terror. He wouldn't be left alone again, he just wouldn't! With a fear-induced sprint, he caught up with Marik and once again lunged.

He missed. The sound made Marik stop, startled. He glanced at Ryou warily as he lay on the ground and didn't get up. Ryou knew it was futile, but the thought of being alone again, after this small bit of companionship, was enough to have him miserable and terrified. He sobbed into the ground, knowing that even if he did get up and chase Marik, the stronger, taller boy would just outrun him. Marik, however, did exactly the opposite. Seeing Ryou's wretched form on the ground, a sense of guilt overtook him. Ryou had caught him by surprise by tackling him, but before he had done so, Marik had noticed that there were no other people in the city. He'd taken the tomato for the sole reason that there was no one guarding it and he was ravenous enough to eat a chunk out of it without thinking that someone must have weeded the garden.

He knelt next to Ryou's form and grabbed his arm. He hoisted Ryou up and sat him down against the greenhouse glass windows. Ryou clung to him. Marik awkwardly sat down next to him, prying off his grip and holding his hands with his own.

"Why are you the only one here?" he asked. Ryou coughed out a response that Marik couldn't catch. He sighed and jostled him a bit. "Hey, answer my question." Ryou let out a shaking sigh and turned to him with a bit of cohesion.

"The storm," he cried softly. "The storm took my family! I had no one. Now you're here." He emphasized the last bit by holding onto Marik's hands tighter. Marik looked taken aback.

"Didn't you try to leave?" he asked. Ryou closed his eyes and nodded. He'd once gone away from the dead city and into the forest adjacent to it, but he couldn't get very far. It was a day's journey before he saw a reliable banana tree as opposed to the many berries he knew were poisonous. The night was full of dirt, tears, and snakes that had threatened to prey on his ankles. Ryou had hurried back quickly with the bananas, and the only good that came out of the trip was the new banana tree in his garden.

"It was bad," he whispered. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. "Where did you come from?" Marik straightened, looking fearful.

"My father's house," he answered. "It's far, far away. He's a horrible person." Ryou's eyes shined with hope.

"Did you see anyone else? Could…could we go somewhere else?" he said joyfully. "Somewhere with more…people?" Marik lowered his head.

"I didn't see anyone else," he said flatly. "I'm not going back to where my father lived. He would hurt me." Ryou felt a twinge of disapproval, but didn't push the issue any further. He allowed Marik his space, especially since he didn't want Marik to leave.

* * *

><p>Marik and Ryou were both fifteen when Marik told Ryou about his past. They had become closer and closer over the two years they were together, up to the point where Marik helped Ryou add a new room to his house for Marik to sleep in. Ryou was happier as the days went by. He began to feel more human and discussed things with Marik about new innovations or garden tending. They seemed to crave each other's voice, and often held hands to ensure that they weren't alone. The only glaring oddity that set Marik apart from Ryou was the fact that he always kept his ratty purple shirt on and didn't even allow Ryou to follow him when he went to wash and dry the shirt. Ryou missed him terribly in the short moments that he wasn't there, but Marik didn't tell him the reason for his privacy until one day when they were huddled next to each other beside the fire and feeling closer than ever. Ryou's head was on Marik's shoulder so that he could hear all that was being said. Marik, in turn, rested his head on Ryou's so that he could respond without too much of a fuss.<p>

"I have two older siblings, a sister and a brother," he said. "Just like you had Amane." Ryou gave a small smile. He'd told Marik about Amane at a time like this when they didn't have a care in the world. It served to alleviate the pain of her loss because Marik often answered questions such as "Would Amane like the new walnut tree?" or "Will I see Amane again someday?" with a yes. Marik even provided his own perspective over Amane's preferences based on his own sister's personality, which made her seem even more real to Ryou.

"What were their names?" Ryou asked.

"My sister's name was Ishizu, and my brother's name was Odion," Marik answered. "My father used to beat my brother because he was adopted."

"Adopted?"

"It means that my mother and father didn't make him. Someone else did, but we took him in because we loved him more."

"Oh…what's 'love?'" Ryou then asked. Marik laughed and gave Ryou the pleasurable sensation of making someone he cared for in a happy mood.

"You've never heard of _love_?" Marik replied dubiously. "Where have _you_ been?" Ryou pouted, recognizing that he was being made fun of.

"Of course I have! My mother used to say it to Amane and me just before we went to sleep. I just don't know what it really _means_," he explained impatiently. "Is it just a formality? Because she said it to us before we went out to the market as well." Marik shook his head.

"It means that she really cares for you," he said quietly. "I never had either of my parents say it to me. You should feel honored." Ryou looked at the fire with a sad gaze. Silenced reigned for a brief moment.

"Why didn't they say it to you?" he asked softly, readying himself for a story.

"My mother died when I was born, so she couldn't. But my father…" Marik growled. "He just _wouldn't_ say it to me, as if I were scum. He didn't say it to my sister or my brother either. My sister and my brother said it to me, and I said it to them. We never spoke to our father unless we had to. I really saw Odion as my father figure, I suppose. My father, I just saw as my enemy."

"An enemy? Because he didn't say that he loved you?"

"No…because of what he did to me. It's the reason I ran away, even if it took me so long to run away in the first place."

"What are you talking about?"

"I guess I'll start at the beginning," Marik sighed. Ryou closed his eyes, preparing for a story that would make him fall asleep. "My father used to beat me with a whip from when I was three." Ryou's eyes shot open and he lifted his head to see Marik's face. Marik stared stonily at the fire. "He was ruthless. I had whip-marks that looked like scars, and he would wait until they went away before he whipped me again. It was agonizing, though. He whipped Odion, too, but he never whipped Ishizu. I guess she reminded him too much of our mother."

"I don't blame you for hating him," Ryou said angrily. He couldn't fathom why anyone would want to hurt Marik, and he felt a surge of protectiveness for Marik against his abusive father. He was startled when Marik chuckled darkly,

"Oh, no, I still cared for him after that. I thought that all that he was saying was true: I was worthless and unfit to be his son. It was only when the Initiation happened…"

"What's the 'Initiation?'"

"It's when my father carved my back in order to 'truly bring me into the family'. It only happened to men, and Odion was adopted, so he didn't count. The reason I started hating my father was his insensitivity. I told him that I would wait for my back to be carved, as I had just lost my scars and I wanted to heal my skin further. He didn't listen."

"Back…carved?" Ryou gasped. He immediately raised his head and grabbed the hem of Marik's shirt. Marik started and tried to push him away, but Ryou had the element of surprise to his advantage, and he was able to swipe the shirt clean off and pin Marik onto his back. He gasped at all the markings that covered his friend's back. Marik struggled at first, but he eventually fell limp. Ryou continued to stare at what he'd uncovered.

"They weren't like the other scars," Marik murmured mournfully. "They were too deep. I can never be rid of them." Ryou got off of Marik and watched as Marik got up and dusted himself off. They avoided each other's eye contact for the rest of the night, and few words were spoken.

* * *

><p>Marik had grown stronger than Ryou in a matter of time. Ryou couldn't even hope to beat him if he'd decided he was the king, which caused him great grief. Here he was, in his own city, and Marik was strong enough to resemble a threat to the rule he prided so much.<p>

Except…he wasn't. Marik's previous stoic personality had immediately dissolved into a shyer, yet defensive temperament. Suddenly, it was as if he were avoiding Ryou entirely. This, Ryou did not take well.

"Where are you going?" he would often ask when Marik didn't go into the house but instead insisted on sleeping in one of the run-down buildings. Marik would snap at him to lay off, which roused another argument from the usually mild-mannered white-haired boy. Marik would usually have to promise Ryou that he'd be back by morning, but it wasn't long until Ryou went through days without seeing him.

After one particularly long disappearance, Ryou's nerves were fried. Before he could corner Marik and confront him, however, Marik came to him looking sheepish.

"Where have you been?" Ryou all but hollered. Marik ducked shamefully, but pulled out a ball from his left hand. Ryou looked at it with surprise, noticing the clumsy stitching and the variety of furs that made up the patches. He took it from Marik's outstretched hand, grasping the hand with his own right one and examining the present with his left. He immediately felt a spark of hope. "Who gave this to you?" Marik's eyes widened, and he looked like a deer planted in front of Ryou's handmade spear.

"I…made it," he said quietly. Ryou felt his hopes dim, and he slumped slightly. Marik noticed this and his eyes narrowed and averted. "I made it for you." Instantly, Ryou grew confused. Marik had never acted like this before…with such shy gestures and sweet presents. Ryou was suspicious to a mild extent.

"Why did you make it?" he asked quietly, somewhat hoping for something that he couldn't name. Marik couldn't hold out any longer and he snapped at Ryou before hauling himself away. Ryou glanced down at the ball again before resolving to keep it. As the months passed by, he slowly had an entire collection of Marik's little gifts, and Marik seemed to become shyer and shyer as he held Ryou's hand a fraction longer each time. Ryou was slightly confused, but allowed him to stroke his cheek at times. Marik's demeanor would always be sad with some indescribable emotion when he left, but no matter what Ryou did (he'd come up with some presents on his own), he never could escape the look.

* * *

><p>Ryou suddenly began feeling odd at times. While Marik was avoiding him, he would notice remarkable changes in his body that caused him to become awkward with what once were normal chores such as walking, speaking, and controlling himself. Often he would snap at Marik to let off excess anger that he didn't even know he could store. Finally, he started to sacrifice animals again.<p>

Marik was, possibly, the only one who could calm him down before he killed off another rodent. He'd grab Ryou gently and hug him, comforting him with his warmth and stability. Ryou would growl at Marik and never told him that he enjoyed his hugs, despite the fact that he did. Ryou didn't know why he was so difficult, but Marik seemed to have little patience himself. The two were more often fighting than not, and Ryou considered it a miracle that Marik never once tried to usurp his role as the king of the dead city.

It was only when they saw each other after they hadn't seen each other for a while that they were intimate. Civility suddenly didn't exist, and they would hold each other tightly, craving the contact. Ryou's emotions would tell him that he needed to get closer, to have Marik near him at every moment, to never quite let him go. What he didn't know was that Marik's own emotions were telling Marik the same thing.

They didn't speak of it, however, and the cycle went on.

* * *

><p>Ryou wanted to build a tall, tall tower when he was eighteen. Marik, as always, agreed to his endeavors. They began work immediately, but instead of creating a mud-hut, they used nails and wood.<p>

"Are you sure that my father won't see this?" Marik asked stonily. Their attitudes toward each other still hadn't changed, after all. Ryou nodded distractedly. Marik, unsatisfied, stomached his disapproval and continued working.

They were working for three hours when Ryou accidentally drove the nail into the wood at a crooked angle. He yelled in frustration and leapt up, kicking a rock with fury. Marik leapt up as well, if only to get out of the flying rock's path. He whirled onto Ryou angrily.

"What's your _problem_?" he shouted. Ryou gave him a murderous glare.

"Leave me alone!" he growled. Marik didn't back down, already irrationally angry from the previous moment.

"First you can't do something right, and now you're trying to _kill_ me? I'm not like those dead animals that you still kill! I'll fight back!" he roared. Ryou clenched his teeth in frustration as tears leaked from his eyes. He felt so helpless, unable to counter Marik on his very true statement. The idea of killing Marik was tempting at times, but Ryou felt hurt that Marik would even accuse Ryou for actually considering it. His anger boiled over and he immediately tackled Marik, bringing them both to the ground. Marik was surprised, but retaliated as much as he could. He easily pinned Ryou down among the blocks of wood and began punching him repeatedly in the face. Ryou wouldn't have any of it, though, and kneed Marik between the legs. The disadvantage caused Marik to howl in pain and fall sideways, while Ryou sadistically smiled and pushed him down with one hand. To Marik's surprise, Ryou lifted his hand straight afterwards. When Marik opened his eyes, Ryou had a nail aimed at his neck and a hammer in his other hand. His eyes were assessing Marik as if he was another one of the animals he so preyed upon.

"You think I'm trying to kill you? Why don't I, then?" he murmured, lightly scraping the nail against the skin of Marik's neck. Marik began to hyperventilate. Panicked eyes stared straight back at Ryou's, much like a frightened child. Ryou's hand shook, realizing how, in just a few short moments, he had acted upon his anger and this had been the result. "I can finish this building all by myself, and you know it," he said silkily, causing Marik's pupils to constrict. "You may be stronger than me, but I'm cunning and smarter than you are." Marik felt an overwhelming helplessness pass through his mind, akin to Ryou's earlier weakness. He stopped breathing, staring at Ryou and the nail with intense apprehension. Ryou relished the power he had over Marik.

"Kill me," Marik said in a small voice. "Just do it. If you're gonna do it, just finish it. I can't stand waiting." Ryou rolled his eyes at Marik.

"I'll go as slow as I want," he hissed, trying to spite him for all the pain that he put him through. Without warning, Marik lurched up and Ryou dropped the nail in surprise.

They both merely looked at each other before Marik grabbed the nail and promptly sliced Ryou's upper arm with it. Ryou screamed harshly as Marik suddenly dropped the nail and ran. Ryou ignored the pain in his arm with his rage and grabbed the nail before throwing a block of wood at Marik's head with his other arm. It didn't reach Marik's head, as intended, but it knocked one of his legs and caused him to topple over. Ryou immediately noted the advantage and caught up to Marik's prone form, sitting on it before Marik could actually get up.

"I'm going to carve your back like your father did," Ryou rasped harshly. "Maybe then you'll lay off." Marik let out a cry of fear as Ryou tore off his shirt.

The world froze. While Ryou had seen Marik shirtless after the discussion they'd had years ago, he'd never been this close to his markings. It was shockingly gruesome. The artistry was amazing, but the carver had taken no heed of the canvas, often dipping in too deep in some places and harshly digging across the skin in others. Ryou leaned down to the markings, ignoring the way that Marik convulsed due to his dry sobs. He let his lips touch the markings and Marik let loose a deep sigh as he realized that Ryou wasn't carving him up as his father had. Ryou continued to kiss his back, skimming the markings with his lips. Marik lay prone, relaxing somewhat as Ryou ran his lips over the wings on his shoulder blades.

"Marik…" Ryou sighed. Marik didn't move as Ryou turned him over and grasped both his upper arms. Ryou kissed him on the mouth, brushing the hair out of his face. Marik let him do so, closing his eyes and waiting for all the bad things to go away. They both felt drained of their anger and filled with something else. Ryou forced Marik's mouth open with his own and Marik let him explore. Marik brought a hand to the back of Ryou's head and brought him downward, trying to get closer.

And get closer they did.

* * *

><p>They were found when planes flying overhead could see the skyscraper. The forest trees were small by comparison, so there was no way anyone could miss the half-finished, monumental building that the two men had made out of the remains of the dead city, and when twenty-year old Ryou Bakura and nineteen-year old Marik Ishtar were found and "rescued," they made it to the front page of every newspaper. The skyscraper was left alone as a monument of the last citizen of the dead city, but the garden, water tower, and the joined mud houses were torn down to make for new renovations Mr. Bakura would undoubtedly want when he was coherent enough to sign the various deals the oil companies had for him.<p>

As for Ryou and Marik, they were under the care of Marik's sister, who had explained to them that Marik's father had died due to a sort of brain cancer and she had married the CEO of KaibaCorp, a company that Marik had heard of when he was a little boy. Ryou had allowed Kaiba the rights to his dead city for some unfathomable reason that Marik was ever too curious about. Seto had turned the entire city into an amusement park for his corporation's game (shared with Industrial Illusions, but he could always leave that part out) and named the place Battle City. Marik and Ryou spent some of their days baby-sitting their nieces and nephew, but most days were spent working at a construction site where Ryou served to be an excellent engineer and Marik proved to be an exemplary construction worker, following Ryou's directions with years of experience.

* * *

><p>"I would've thought that you'd be angrier," Marik said one day. Ryou leaned further into his lap, closing his eyes contentedly in Marik's embrace.<p>

"What do you mean?" he drawled. Marik shifted so that he was more comfortable.

"I mean that you made so much for your city; a garden, a house, a waterproof tarp…" Marik explained, and Ryou watched amusedly as his hands gestured wildly to the air before him. "I would've thought that you'd be depressed to see all that go to waste." Ryou understood, but he honestly didn't know the answer to that himself. It was something he hadn't really considered. Ishizu and her family had been there for the two men ever since they'd gotten back, but other than their intense scrutiny, Ryou hadn't found any remorse for what they'd done. After pondering Marik's question a bit longer, he finally smiled.

"I was never really proud of those accomplishments, you know," he sighed. "It was all a part of my society at the time. I was the king. My success in innovation was expected of me." Marik raised an eyebrow, which bade Ryou to elaborate. "I was…the only person alive after the long storm, as you know. I haven't really thought about what I felt, but…I think that I was living through my city the entire time." Marik narrowed his eyes.

"Huh?" he asked, obviously not expecting the answer. Ryou gave him a small smile.

"Remember? I would throw down animal sacrifices whenever you were gone, like a barbarian. I think I was trying to be the entire city at once. My people and I used to eat a lot of meat, hence the constant animal killings, and we used to create new innovations every month. Then you came, and suddenly, there wasn't a city anymore, but two boys who were trying to survive. What I'm saying is…you became my city." Ryou felt Marik hitch his breath in surprise.

"What are you trying to tell me?" he demanded. "Ryou…"

"I was a thief king!" Ryou blurted. "I believed that I stole from my people even as I ruled over their corpses! I believed that I took the garden's children even as I fed and watered them!" he babbled. "Then you came and ate that tomato like there was nothing more natural in the world, and then I had a responsibility: you. I had to feed you from the garden. I wasn't stealing anymore, but saving a life. I wasn't taking matchboxes from stores, but using what necessary means I needed to use in order to make you comfortable!" Ryou gasped, but before he could utter another word, Marik spoke over him.

"I can handle myself, you know," he muttered. Ryou growled angrily.

"I know! That wasn't what I was trying to get through to you!" he protested, turning around in Marik's lap and bringing their faces in a proximity that made their hearts pound. "You were the most important person in the world to me! You still are…" He grew quieter, trying to recognize the weight of what he was saying. Marik blushed a bit and looked away.

"If you wanted to have sex, you didn't need to be so elaborate about it," he muttered shyly. Ryou rolled his eyes.

"Get your mind out of the gutter. What I mean to say is…" he began. "You used to be something I could use. An item. But suddenly, I realized that you weren't an item, and that was incredibly enlightening. You were someone with imperfections, but perfections I could never hope to accomplish. Marik, you were what I _needed_." Marik smiled at him.

"Thanks," he said softly. "I needed you, too, I guess, but I didn't know it." Ryou grinned at him, satisfied that Marik at least got the gist of what he was saying. He laid back into Marik's arms as Marik continued. "Hey, you know what? I think I have an idea of what to call Ishizu's new baby."

"What?" Ryou asked.

"Well, it's a girl, right? I think we should call her Amane," Marik drawled. Ryou's face flushed with happiness.

"You really think so?" he said happily. "I don't know if Ishizu will go for it. She knows that I'll probably favor the girl more than the other two."

"Well if you _don't_ do that or mention it to Ishizu…_ever_," Marik snapped playfully. "I think we could make it all work out." Ryou grinned widely and kissed Marik before leaning back onto him again. He'd lost his kingdom, but it was all worth it if he could stay with Marik and have a family to share his new life with.

* * *

><p><strong>(AN): **I hope you guys enjoyed the story! I still can't manage an ending that's not corny, but...well, who can't handle a happy ending? Review please!


	12. Lies

**(A/N):** I was craving fluff, so I made some sugary sweet Angstshipping! This is loosely based on "Infected with Love" by HollirotxX, but only because of the love triangle. Or square. Whatever. It's not exactly the same thing or anything, but it has similar undertones.

Thank you to Lazy Gaga! I'm glad that you appreciate my oneshots!

Thank you, looot, for reviewing, though I thought that the ending of the last oneshot was okay, albeit a bit misspelled...

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><p>Lies<p>

_Marik_

I chewed the cake with slow, tentative bites. It truly was horrible; Ryou had outdone himself with this one. I had to struggle to keep it in my mouth, especially since he'd overdone the lemon juice and horribly mixed the dough of the cake, forcing flour to get caught, dry and dusty, in my throat. I gulped it down, and then took some water to ease my esophagus from the burning, dry substance. Ryou's eager, hopeful stare somewhat drooped when I took the water, but I smiled a reassuring smile at him after setting the glass down.

His horrible knack in baking was something I could look past, seeing as he was cute and all. That's right, I had a crush on the white-haired, naïve, and utterly oblivious Ryou Bakura.

"That was some good cake!" I exclaimed, feeling slightly bad for lying to him. "Red velvet, right?" Ryou beamed, but I'd already known that I was correct because Yami Marik had warned me about it. He had walked past the cake shop Ryou worked in everyday, and Ryou was always outside trying to get the people he knew to try his "latest masterpiece" before bringing it all to me. Yami Marik said that Ryou wanted people to try the cake to ensure that it's perfect before he brought it to _me_. I said that he hauled the leftovers and doesn't bother to sell them because he'd insecure about them, sending them to me instead. Needless to say, I was kinda pessimistic about whatever relationship Ryou and I shared.

"It _is_ red velvet! How did you know?" Ryou cried enthusiastically. "I swear, you have this hidden talent to find out exactly what I bring, even before everyone else!" I meekly stared down to the ground. If he knew the truth about how I had Tristan tell me everything beforehand, he would never feel this way. I kept a lot of my life under-wraps from Ryou, including the fact that his cakes all tasted grotesque. I often told myself that I should tell him the truth, but in all honesty, I couldn't for fear of losing him. He only kept me around because I was the only one willing to eat his entire cake…

"Hm, I guess I do! Gimme another slice!" I asked cheerily. Ryou enthusiastically did so, but then, I suddenly felt everything go pink. Ryou's shouts whirled around my ears, but I felt gravity leaving me as a gust of…something picked me up and propelled me away from my body.

"MARIK!" Ryou cried, staring at my body on the ground. Wait, my body was on the ground? I only caught a glimpse before being propelled into the sky.

_Yami Marik_

I was taking a walk when, suddenly, I was in the air and flying. There was seriously some major shit going on here, 'cause I _never_ take walks. It's seriously an apocalyptic fortune. Maybe if I continue to do things that aren't my thing, I'll gain some superpowers or something.

Let me explain. I've done a whole lot of shit today that I usually don't do. I rejected Bakura's offer to fight someone. I ate a piece of Ryou's cake. I took a fucking _walk_, even though I knew people would be cowering from me left and right. So, naturally, the fact that I learned to fly didn't come as any surprise to me. It was when I was suddenly shoved into oblivion against my will that things started to get weird. My first thought, admittedly, was that Bakura was doing this somehow. He was fucking pissed when I told him that I wouldn't be fighting with him, but come on! It was always about Ryou and getting into fights with that guy, and sometimes, I just want to relax and talk. Trust me, I'm not going soft or anything like that. It's just that Bakura's always _fighting_, I mean, I'm beginning to think that he doesn't even need me at all. Whatever. He can fight whoever he wants _by himself_.

But back to my conflict. I felt a huge impact, as if someone gave me an expert right hook, before I opened my eyes furiously and jumped to my feet, ready to beat the crap outta whoever had the gall to interrupt my once-in-a-lifetime walk.

I saw dainty walls with a portrait of a fruit bowl, and I swiveled my head to the left to find that _disgusting_ "red velvet" cake that Ryou had attempted to pass off as human food. I turned my head to the right and found that the sink was clean and there were no leaks from the faucet, much less any dishes that needed to be washed. Well. There was only one person in this entire city that could keep a house this organized without throwing away the disgusting crap called "cake."

"Marik?" a tentative voice called, as if reading my mind.

"Yeah, this is Marik's house, ain't it?" I sighed, turning my head and seeing Ryou on the floor. "What the fuck?"

"Marik!" Ryou cried happily. He ran up to me and hugged me, causing me to flinch in disgust. As if reading my mind (or body language) he backed off and kicked his foot sheepishly. Wait…did he just call me Marik? "Oh, sorry. I know you don't like to be hugged, Marik, but I was so worried!" I raised my eyebrows. Yup, he'd just called me Marik.

"I'd've thought that you'd know the difference between me and Marik by now, eh, Ryou?" I asked. Ryou raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Um, what?" he asked softly. I rolled my eyes, but froze mid-roll. I couldn't see my bangs, and they were supposed to be right above my forehead. I stared back at Ryou, who was beginning to look slightly hurt, and realized that he was taller than I last remembered. I clenched my teeth and looked at my clothes.

I would never wear the purple, midriff-baring shirt that Marik always wore unless something unnatural happened, like I'd switched bodies with him. Oh, crap.

"M-Marik?" Ryou stammered. "You sound different…are you feeling okay?" I stared at the…_kid_, with a slight cringe. I was _Marik_? That was something I didn't exactly expect from my little flight over here…

But wait…if I was Marik, then…Marik was _me_! I stiffened almost immediately and left the house quickly. There was NO WAY Marik, of all people, was going to ruin my reputation! It was bad enough that we looked alike, but the fact that he'd been my worst enemy since kindergarten certainly wasn't a plus factor. Ryou called out after me, but I ran as fast as I could with Marik's spindly legs. Wrenching open the door, I frantically headed over to the park, where I'd been before the damn _wind_ had picked me up and thrown me into Marik's body!

_Marik_

"Wake up, dammit!" a low voice growled. I felt fear prick at every nerve ending in my body…but wait, this didn't _feel_ right. I was on the ground, clearly, but my hands were on some sort of cloth. My head felt heavier than usual, like I'd just grown a mane of hair the length of Pegasus'. I felt my teeth clench as I thought of that Rip Van Winkle story Ryou had told me long ago. That wasn't what was happening, right? I opened my eyes in a panic and nearly fainted again.

Staring me in the face was, well, _me_.

"Wha?" I gasped, clambering up to my elbows. "Who the fuck are you?" I pushed the body and stood up, then cringed as I felt pain zing through me. The _thing_ that was in my body clutched its body the same way as I did, glaring at me with spite before launching himself onto me. "W-wait-!" I called, but we were both promptly knocked over, and both of our faces twisted in pain.

"Ack…what?" the monster croaked in pain. I sat up and clutched my head.

"If we hit each other, we feel each other's pain…" I whispered harshly, trying to reach and nurse my head through my plethora of hair. As I realized that I now had _a plethora of hair_, I promptly freaked out. "OKAY, WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?" I yelled, ignoring my headache in my panic. The monster in my body called out in a deep voice that was _definitely_ not mine.

"You're in my body!" he growled. "Stop with the fucking screaming! Our heads just got smashed like melons!" I examined my attire. The billowing cloak gave it all away.

"_Yami Marik_?" I screeched. "Out of all the people-!"

"Do you think I like this arrangement, either? I'd much rather switch bodies with anyone else in the world!" he bellowed back. Apparently, his headache was chased away by his anger as well. "We've gotta figure this out before we kill each other in each other's bodies!" I closed my fists, and a staring contest ensued.

Yami Marik and I had hated each other ever since we'd entered the same kindergarten with the same name and nearly the same looks. The only difference was that Yami Marik couldn't seem to tame his hair, while I had trouble keeping it from looking bland. Ever since we laid eyes on each other, we strived to establish our separate identities and make it so that no one would see us as the same person. It didn't help that we often had the same tastes when it came to jewelry and makeup…

The one marked difference of our personalities was the fact that I tried to avoid trouble (unless it was out of deep-seated vengeance) while Yami Marik went out of his way to look for trouble. That was why, when we met the two white-haired besties busying themselves in a game of hopscotch, I'd befriended the innocent and friendly Ryou while Yami Marik maintained some semblance of friendship with the vile and hostile Bakura. Of course, Bakura and Ryou didn't sever their friendship because of our sakes, but managed to meld their relationship to accommodate us as well. I like to think that, by now, I'm closer to Ryou than Bakura is, but the fact remains that Ryou is far more comfortable with Bakura coming over to his house than me. I'd thought that after this year of eating his horrible cake and inviting him over to my house would change his mind about letting me come over to his, but there didn't seem to be any sort of change.

And now, there never would be. I hissed at my new body and glared at Yami Marik as he prodded my-wait, now _his_-midriff.

"Do you have any idea how to get out of this?" I snapped angrily. "I don't want to be stuck in your overly-bulky body forever!" Yami Marik didn't rise to the bait, and instead looked up at me with a perplexed expression.

"How do you manage to make your stomach so tight?" he asked. "I can't do that without bulking out my abs!" I rolled my eyes impatiently. This was precisely the reason why I didn't like to associate with the buffoon!

"Look! We have to focus!" I yelled, smacking his head lightly so as to not hurt myself. "Do you have any ideas? Or will I have to resort to befriending Bakura and winning fights all on my own?" Yami Marik stopped and flinched, eyes wide as he _finally_ realized the situation.

"Shit! You wouldn't be able to hold your own in a fight for a million bucks!" he cursed. "Yeah, yeah, I get your point. We have to stop this!" I groaned at his dramatic pose. He didn't get it. We could be stuck in each other's bodies for years, possibly even the rest of our lives! All the same, I was just glad that he was cooperating. I decided to sit down on the ground and motioned for him to sit down as well. He plopped down beside me and left his legs outstretched, causing my pants to soak up any grass stains. No need to worry about that now…

"So, let's find out the source of all this," I sighed. Yami Marik stared at something in the far-off distance and I snapped my fingers in front of his stupid face. "PAY ATTENTION you idiot!" I yelled. "Can't you take anything _seriously_ for once?" Yami Marik frowned at me, but rolled his eyes and folded his hands.

"I was thinking about it!" he protested angrily. "It happened around an hour ago. That's when it happened to _me_ at least. You sleep _forever_."

"Fuck you," I snapped. "Ugh, an hour ago I was at my house."

"And I was taking a walk."

"Okay, you're right, that was pretty obvious."

"Were you thinking about sex?"

"What? _No_!"

"Well, then, we know our little swap wasn't because we were thinking the same thing."

"That's…nasty. Anyway, did you have any contact with magical items or the sort? I know that Yugi has a bunch of those."

"Why would I deal with that pipsqueak? I hate his brother enough."

"Dammit Yami Marik! Pay attention! What about any other sources of mythical objects? Surely there's one!"

"Uh, no. What about you?"

"Of course not! I wouldn't be asking you if I had!"

"Okay, seriously Marik, you have this huge stick up your ass. Did you get enough sleep last night?"

"Ugh, I guess I'm sorry. It's just that I ate Ryou's cake and I'm trying to forget the horrible feelings it's giving my memories," I replied with a small moan as my brain lurched. Yami Marik stared at me with his eyes wide.

"Wait! I ate his cake, too!" he cried. I looked at him incredulously.

"What? Why would you put yourself through that torture?" I asked, bewildered, before widening my eyes in realization. "Wait, do you think…?"

"It was the cake," Yami Marik growled decisively. "I'm positive."

_Yami Marik_

After Marik and I went to each other's homes with no real conclusive evidence, I suddenly remembered that I'd completely run out on Ryou. I sighed, frustrated, but decided that I wouldn't tell Marik. I didn't need any more of his bitchy drama. To my surprise, he wasn't waiting at Marik's home like I'd suspected, but there was a note written in light, small handwriting that told me that he was creeped out and that he left the cake, but was too creeped out of me to stay. He phrased it nicely, of course.

I didn't care, and I slumped into bed without changing my clothes. There was no way I was going to look at Marik's body when it would only make me mourn the loss of my own muscles. He'd better appreciate all the shit I had to go through to get those babies!

I growled and looked at the clock. It was 9:00 a.m., and I looked over to the piles of college textbooks and the large sticky note on Marik's whiteboard that said in bold letters: **EUROPEAN HISTORY MIDTERM IN ****5**** DAYS!** I scowled angrily. Marik had told me about this, as if expecting me to actually study for this test. He further told me that it was his only class, so if I couldn't handle it, he was most likely going to kill me. I grinned and ripped the sticky note into shreds. There was no way I'd be following his rules about _history_, of all subjects! I flopped onto the bed with a satisfied cackle. After a few minutes, I froze in horror.

Marik had nothing else to _do_! I looked around the room and found nothing on the walls except a picture of him and Ryou on the beach, playing tag with the waves that threatened to wash over their feet unless they scampered away in time. That was back when they'd visited the Mediterranean Sea. I remembered because Bakura had wanted to go with them so badly, and I had to convince him that Ryou would not fall ploy to Marik's "charms" and therefore ruin any chances of a relationship between the two white-haired individuals. I growled at the memory. What did Ryou have that I didn't have? With a sigh, I rolled over and buried my face into Marik's pillow. Fuck that, and fuck Bakura. That's what I'd thought this morning after hearing Bakura bitch about how Marik was "getting closer and closer to Ryou" and "doesn't that _bother_ you Yami Marik?" Usually, I could deal with Bakura's bitching because we got into fights with some other gangs afterwards and I enjoyed teaming up with Bakura and feeling his back against mine, watching Bakura fight for me as well as fighting for Bakura myself…

But lately, it wasn't worth it. Lately, Bakura was too annoying and too damn oblivious to my feelings to ever get over his elementary school crush on Ryou Bakura. I sighed. It didn't matter anymore. Despite what Marik believed, I had already considered the fact that I wouldn't get my body back. It was just that I didn't care. So what if I never have muscles or cool-ass hair? I could deal with not having Bakura complain my ear off about Marik and Ryou.

A shrill jingle pierced my eardrum and I flinched as Marik's phone buzzed on the nightstand. I sighed in relief, thankful that the phone was able to take me away from my boredom and misery. That is, until I looked at the caller ID: Ryou Bakura.

"Oh god, what does _he_ want?" I groaned, picking up the phone and holding it up to my ear. "What is it?" I asked flatly.

"Um…oh, hi, Marik!" Ryou said shyly. I rolled my eyes, even though he couldn't see. "Um…hello?"

"You didn't answer my question: What do you want?" I snapped. There was a small gasp in the phone, but I was relentless. This was the stupid kid that was ruining my love life! "I know you're there! Answer me!" There was a sharp gasp and a click. I looked at my phone to see that he'd hung up. I rolled my eyes and tossed the phone onto some general area on the bed. There was no way I was going to call him back, even if I was a jerk throughout the exchange. He needed to learn that he had to stop being such a baby all the time, especially if someone like Bakura was going to go out with him. I shut my eyes and gazed forlornly at the clock that read 9:20. Time really hated me; usually, I'd be fighting with my best friend by now. Oh well. I guess he's just dandy, considering he could unleash his anger more people in my absence.

_Marik_

I knew that Yami Marik wasn't going to study for the test. I, however, studied my ass off just in case we got our bodies back before the midterm. I was in the middle of the textbook website on Yami Marik's shitty-ass computer when the door banged open and I saw a flash of white before someone grabbed my cape and slammed me to the wall beside the computer.

"Ack-!" I screamed, trying to think of whether there were any rambunctious friends (stupid, violent, _pigs_) that Yami Marik had told me to watch out for. None came to mind. I stared at the figure with wide eyes and apprehension before realization dawned on me. "Bakura?" I choked before he slammed me to the wall again and rendered me silent.

"What the fuck, Mariku?" he growled lowly. I looked at him with fear in my eyes. He growled and, as if it was his favorite pastime, slammed me into the wall yet again.

"OW, stop!" I cried, panicked. I'd never felt this weak, and my pride was seriously taking damage.

"You're telling me to stop? You should've thought about this before you fucking ditched me for a stupid _walk_!" he spat. "You're so useless! See if I ever invite you to another fight again!" He released me and stomped to the window. I stared at his back as he hesitated a bit, giving me the impression that he was expecting something. Frankly, I was content sitting where I was and not saying anything for fear he'd come and choke me again…

With a scoff (clearly trying to cover up the fact that he'd been expecting something more from me), Bakura leapt from the windowsill onto the ground. I waited for a few moments until I was sure that he'd left, then ran to the window, slammed it shut, turned off all my lights, and dashed to my phone to call Yami Marik. The phone was ringing only twice before I heard an annoyed yawn.

"Who is it?" a groggy voice snapped.

"YAMI MARIK!" I screeched. "Bakura just came in here and nearly killed me! What the hell did you do to him?" Yami Marik gave a snort of indifference.

"Eh, just leave that jackass alone. He's like a pissy bitch, but he'll wait and eventually he'll give you a chance to apologize," he drawled.

"I think that already happened," I muttered. "He paused a bit before jumping out the window and leaving." A gasp came from the other line as Yami Marik seemed to come around from his nap.

"Wait, that's perfect!" he squealed in a way that actually sounded scary. "I always have to apologize to Bakura for not going with him ever, but you're impervious to his charms!"

"What charms?" I snorted, but he ignored me.

"You can hold out longer than I can!" he said excitedly. "Bakura will HAVE to bow down to you! Okay, Marik, just don't talk to him at all, okay? We usually meet up in the dumpsters right after school-" I wrinkled my nose at that, "-so just avoid that place and you'll be set!" I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion.

"I don't get it," I said flatly. "If you have such a crush on him, then why would you want to stay away from him?" Yami Marik was silent, and I got the inkling that I had shocked him. "Oh, come on, really? You're so obvious it physically hurts me! You're attracted to Bakura like flies are attracted to Venus Flytraps!"

"Wh-what? No I'm not!" Yami Marik cried.

"Shut up! Yes you are!" I snapped. "Now tell me why I shouldn't just go up to Bakura and kiss him, then see what happens from there!"

"BECAUSE HE TAKES ADVANTAGE OF ME!" Yami Marik wailed. I raised my eyebrows, taken aback. Yami Marik listened to my silence for five seconds before continuing in a quiet voice. "He's always expecting me to apologize, as if he did nothing wrong! I can totally beat him up and everything, but then he just gives me this _look_ and I-"

"Okay, I get it!" I snapped. "Fine, I'll avoid him. Just…just keep studying and I'll see what I can do." Yami Marik laughed with a cruel edge, as if his entire reputation wasn't in my hands or anything.

"You got it!" he cheered. "I'll hit those damn books harder than that whore I met last week!" I wrinkled my nose, looking down my-_his_ body.

"Please don't say that…" I groaned. "And please, _please_ don't do that in my body!" Yami Marik abruptly paused in his self-gloating session and glared at me.

"Well, which is it? No whores or no fail?" he snapped. I felt my eyes widen in shock.

"What? You're forcing me to choose?" I squeaked in surprise.

"Well, duh! I only asked you for one thing, and you asked me for two. It's only fair!" he replied angrily. "Hit the books AND no whores? Getting greedy are we?" Any self-respecting person would've debated this further, but I knew Yami Marik better than most people, mainly because I had to learn his characteristics in order to counter them. I knew that, in his eyes, the value of studying was worth less than the value of sex. It was, frankly, amazing that I got this deal at all. If I declined the sex offer, he'd flunk my test for sure. And this was a test that I could NOT afford to flunk, no matter if my virginity was…taken. I let out a shaky sigh as I leaned against the wall.

"Yami Marik…" I replied, my face pale. I had to take one last stab. "I'm a…virgin." Yami Marik snorted.

"I won't be _receiving_ anything, trust me," he scoffed, as if that mattered at all in terms of virginity. "And I'm good about my whores. I know which ones have STD's and whatnot." I felt my heart sinking lower than low. What would my family say? What would _Ryou_ say? I swallowed and steeled my resolve. They'd be angrier with me if I ruined my future with an "F" on my test, not the whores. I could deal with a couple of cheap sexes, but not with a failed grade that I'd taken so long to achieve…

"Fine. You can have your whores," I said quietly. "Just…make sure to keep it quiet, and make sure I don't contract an STD. I know that even _you_ aren't that cruel."

"Relax, I got it," he said nonchalantly. "I'm gonna hit the damn books now. Later pipsqueak!"

"Wait! Deal's off if you don't get an 'A' on the exam!" I called out. Yami Marik gave an all-suffering sigh.

"_Fine_," he snapped. "I will get an 'A.' Count on it." And then he hung up. I shakily pushed the phone back into the cradle, wondering just what the hell I've done.

_Yami Marik_

With the way Bakura always commented about how I was a dumbshit, I was honestly surprised when I found the studying…easy. I whipped through the book like it was nothing, and I looked through Marik's flashcards to see that it was all easy stuff. This really was my subject! I grinned as I recalled every date of every war, as well as all the generals that had fought in them. I made some mistakes, but I kept studying and I finally got it. Five days passed like nothing, where I blocked Ryou's calls completely and I read Marik's textbook religiously every night so as to get the exam inside and out. I even when online and looked at some sample questions. I was gonna have Bakura begging on his knees, dammit!

Test day rolled around, and I was PUMPED. I made sure that I'd gotten a good sleep the night before and that I'd eaten a wholesome breakfast. I had my emergency coffee ready in case I sporadically felt drowsy, and I had to dump my cell phone on Marik's couch because he kept calling me and quizzing me on stuff, even though I got every one of his questions right! I cracked my neck and twisted in my seat to crack my spine. Téa, sitting behind me, gave me a disgusted look and averted her eyes. I rolled my own before the college professor passed a thick packet of history problems and set it on my desk with a sorry smile. I rolled my sleeves up (there was NO WAY I was wearing one of those god-awful belly shirts) and immediately began.

I was the first one done, to say the least. I slammed the packet down on the professor's desk and gave a loud "WHOOP!" that caused the entire room to glare at me. The professor, however, gave another small smile before waving me off. I grinned and waved back before I made my way past confidently. I saw Téa gawk at my speed, and I saw that the class still had a half-hour left on the clock. I smirked. I'd checked my answers before turning it in, and I still had everything picture-perfect. I sauntered out, feeling like a million bucks. Outside, I saw my body (meaning Marik) pacing wildly. He stopped and stared at me with a wild look in his eyes.

"How'd you do?" he asked with a dry throat. I rolled my eyes, knowing that if he were in his own body, he'd look like shit. As it was, he looked just a little less awesome than he usually did.

"I did way better than everyone else," I said cockily. "Just wait until you see the scores!" Marik offered me a worn smile, which made me feel…weird. Like I'd just climbed a mountain in four seconds flat. Like I'd just given him a trophy that I'd won. Like…I'd just gotten potty-trained, and he was the father that was so happy even through all the hard work he had to go through in order to make sure I crapped in the right place. In short, it was like he was proud of me, and I couldn't remember the last time someone looked at me like that.

"Good job, Mariku," he said proudly, lightening up a bit. I smirked and reveled in his praise. He even called me Mariku! Wait…he called me Mariku…

"Whoa, only Bakura's allowed to call me that," I warned. Marik only laughed and slung an arm over my shoulders.

"Whatever," he replied. "Let's go and celebrate!" I shoved away from him and frowned.

"I'm not just going to be your little buddy just because the test is over and shit. Have you met Bakura at the dumpsters at any time?" I asked suspiciously. Marik rolled his eyes.

"No, _Mom_," he sneered. "Just 'cause you're going to feed my _virgin_ body to the _whores_ doesn't mean that I'll go back on my promise. What, are you going to monitor me now?" I was somewhat taken aback at how his behavior switched so quickly.

"What the hell, man? We're already past this; you fucking agreed!" I snapped back. He seemed to slump, but turned away in defeat. It was REALLY weird to see that expression on _my_ face.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," he sighed, his breath hitching for a moment. "Just…get it over with. I don't really want any details or the like. You'll make _sure_ that whoever you pick won't have any STD's?"

"Of course!" I chirped, my mood lightening. I felt a little guilty, 'cause obviously virginity meant a lot to Marik, but hey! I just aced his test for him; I deserve some sort of reward! With that in mind, we separated and I headed straight to my favorite brothel.

_Marik_

I didn't want to even think about what Yami Marik was doing right now, at midnight. I remained awake in bed, staring at the ceiling, but I couldn't help but feel chills run down "my" body every time I thought of what was going on in "his" body. It was hard to ignore, painful even, and I found myself wishing that I could talk to Ryou again without creeping him out. I reached for Yami Marik's phone, but then set it down. It would just be too creepy to call Ryou now and explain to him the entire situation. Not only would he not believe me, but he'd probably also start to hate both Yami Marik _and_ me. He wasn't very open to these sorts of issues. I heard a branch crack outside my window, but I ignored it and decided to fall asleep. Another crack came, and suddenly, Bakura swooped in the window and leered at me.

"BAK-" I began to shout before he completely leapt on top of me and covered my mouth. I struggled and, with Yami Marik's superior strength, managed to dislodge him. What was with this guy? He seriously needed to take some pills or something! I decided that I wouldn't be beat up again, and when he started to wrestle me, I fought back. Unfortunately, I didn't think about how he was far more experienced with hand-to-hand combat than I was, as he and Yami Marik constantly brawled. In ten minutes, he had me pinned to the _exact same wall_, crying uncle like there was no tomorrow.

"Let me go!" I screamed. "I'll do anything!" He twisted my arm a little further, making tears ooze out of my eyes.

"What the hell happened to the good ol' days when you would actually put up a fight instead of acting like a little girl?" Bakura hissed. I screamed again as he inched my arm up more, knowing that my shoulder would dislocate if this kept up. Without warning, Yami Marik's phone started to ring. Bakura's eyes narrowed, but he loosened his grip to my immense relief. He grabbed the phone and glared at it, the pulsating caller ID stating that "Marik" was calling. In a flash, the phone went hurtling out the window. I took advantage of the distraction to dash out of my room and away from the crazy, white-haired freak as soon as possible. I made it outside and found, to my relief, that my phone was intact. I glanced at the screen to see that I'd missed the call. I ran farther away from Bakura, who was chasing me with speed that only cheetahs could attain. Within moments he'd caught up to me and confiscated my phone yet again. I felt my breath hitch and I groaned in agony as he applied pressure to my sore arm.

"Don't you dare," he hissed. I felt my sharp tongue get the better of me.

"Don't I dare _what_?" I snapped. He remained impassive, so I continued. "You totally beat me up one day, then don't say anything for about a week, _then_ come back to beat me up some more! What is your problem? Don't you have anything better to do than try to kill me?" Bakura reared back as if I'd slapped him. I realized that Yami Marik never really said anything like that, so this may have been the first time Bakura had ever received complaints. I decided not to waste this opportunity. "And why did you just chuck my phone out? Don't you have any idea how much this shit costs?" I inwardly flinched at my slip-up, realizing that Yami Marik might as well have stolen the phone and slipped his own information onto it. "Never mind, what I meant to say was: why won't you just leave me and my property _alone_?"

"You've changed," Bakura sneered. "You and Marik. Ryou told me that Marik wasn't talking to him. He's all torn up about it. Do you have a hand in this?" I silently cursed at Yami Marik for hurting my Ryou's feelings, but outwardly shook my head.

"Why would I want to harm Ryou?" I growled. "He's not in this at all!"

"I'm not stupid, you know!" Bakura roared. "I know what you're doing, and it's not going to work!" I raised my eyebrows, suddenly feeling as if I was dealing with a three-year-old.

"I have absolutely no idea what you're going on about. Why don't you enlighten me?" I suggested. "I can only handle so much crazy." Bakura didn't skip a beat, overlooking the insult I graciously bestowed upon him.

"You're trying to make me jealous 'cause you have a crush on me," he guffawed. "It's not that hard to figure out." I rolled my eyes because I had to give Bakura that one. It really wasn't all that hard to figure out. But before I could give my sarcastic retort, I froze. Wait, Bakura knew that Yami Marik had a crush on him? Then…what was the point of leading him on?

"I'm completely lost!" I snapped. "If you know that I have a crush on you, then why aren't you kissing me or…something?" I didn't want him to kiss me, of course, but I needed some sort of information. Bakura laughed and stood up, freeing me from his clutches.

"You know why," he said airily. "I already have a thing for Ryou. Has everything gone completely through your skull? We're a perfect match!" He didn't stop there, but I stopped listening. I was shaking with rage that I had never felt before. Bakura thought that he was fit for Ryou? Bah, unlikely! More importantly, he'd been treating Yami Marik like a complete buffoon this entire time! The bastard dragged Yami Marik around like a pet, using him for fighting and labor purposes and admonishing him whenever they had any time alone! It wasn't fair, and I felt my eyes burn with fury at Bakura's crass stupidity.

"That's low," I said deeply. "You don't even know how much you mean to h…me. Fuck you Bakura. That's right, just go and fuck off. Do whatever you want. I deserve someone who's not a complete piece of shit anyways." I felt my heart thumping wildly in anger and shock. _This_ is the crap Mariku had to deal with? Not anymore! Bakura stared at me with surprise and revulsion, but had nothing to say. _That_ wasn't shocking. He was more like Mariku than I'd supposed, with limited capabilities for comebacks. But then, Mariku had a better heart than he did. I shook my head in disgust and walked back to Yami Marik's house. I didn't care anymore. Whatever respect I had for Bakura had drained down the metaphorical toilet.

"Hey, wait!" he shouted, but I kept walking. "Wait!" I ignored him as he began to race after me, too disgusted to even think about him.

"There's really nothing you can say now!" I called back, not looking at him at all. "I'll never really care for you like I did three days ago, before you hit me, and I'll never be your friend ever again. You might as well just stop right there and turn away. Go woo Ryou or something." I heard his footsteps stop and stay still. I didn't stop walking forward, and didn't spare him a glance. That piece of trash wasn't worth it.

When I got home, I grabbed my phone and dialed Yami Marik. I heard the busy signal immediately, showing that he was calling someone else at the moment. I waited, tapping my foot, before Yami Marik's voice dropped through the line.

"You'll never guess what happened to me," we both said at the same time.

"You first," he said with an edge of guilt to his voice. I bit my lip, knowing that anything he was guilty for had nothing on me. I'd just lost his only friend…

"Er…well, you see…" I began. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. "Bakura's not your friend anymore."

"…I see," he whispered. "Ryou's not yours, either." I let out my breath in a whoosh, realizing that we were both on the same plane, so we didn't have the right to be mad at each other. "What happened?" Yami Marik asked. "Did you say something?"

"No," I said, deciding to tell him the truth. "Mariku, you may want to sit down for this."

"I'm on your bed."

"Bakura knew. He knew all along that you had a crush on him. He was…stringing you along." I heard a shocked gasp on the other line. It was a husky gasp that he masked up with a cough, but it was enough. Yami Marik was in serious shock, soon to be serious pain. I closed my eyes and began reassuring him. "I told him off. You never deserved that bastard anyways. Mariku, remember this. You're not alone. I know how you feel right now. Every time Ryou tells me that he wants to see Bakura, I know how you feel. Every time Ryou pretends not to see me when Bakura's around, I know how you feel. You know what? Let them be together. They deserve each other." By now, my voice was choking. Yami Marik's voice came through the phone, sounding softer and a bit more vulnerable.

"Marik…Ryou told me that he didn't think I was 'friendly' enough to be friends with him anymore."

I closed my eyes at that. "Why? What did you do?"

"He…caught me. Entering a brothel, I mean."

"Then it's not your fault. I told you that you could."

"But what pisses me off was that he was so _mad_! I mean…he was acting like you were his _possession_ or something! And…right after that, he said something about moving in with Bakura. Of course, that was _after_ he pulled me away from the broth-"

"Wait, he said _what_?"

"He was moving in with Bakura," Yami Marik said coldly. "Trust me, I know exactly how you feel." I laughed without humor, realizing just how much Yami Marik and I were wrapped around the white-haired men's fingers.

"Screw them," I said flatly.

"What?" Yami Marik asked, but I knew that he heard what I'd said.

"We don't need either of them. You don't need Bakura, and I don't need Ryou. You've fought for him long enough, and I've certainly had enough of that disgusting _cake_. We don't deserve to be told that we're worthless, that Bakura or Ryou are better than us, that we're jealous idiots who'd slave away, hand and foot, to cater to their needs!" I jumped up out of bed, full of rage. I could hear Yami Marik sitting up on my bed, fueled by my cause. "Ryou probably told you that to get you jealous. Every time he'd even mention Bakura's name, I'd lavish him with compliments to try to reach Bakura's caliber. The same was with you, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, every time Bakura said something about Ryou being his soul mate, I wanted to prove that I could be, too. I still have scars!"

"No more!" I said triumphantly. "From now on, you're my only friend!"

"And you're mine!" came the response. With a smile, I looked forward to the next few weeks.

_Yami Marik_

"Do you think that eating another one of Ryou's cakes would cause us to switch back?" I asked around a mouth full of food. Marik shrugged with my shoulders.

"I don't know, but I don't even think that we'd be able to get another one of his cakes," he replied, taking much smaller bites than mine. We were eating pizza at my favorite place. Marik really had a lot of space in his stomach from eating all of Ryou's cakes when no one else would eat them. I asked why he didn't just throw them out, but he told me that it was more sentimental to him to eat all his love's cooking, no matter how bad. No matter if it all was a lie. I felt pity for him and pity for myself as well. Oh well…

"I'm just glad they haven't bothered us," I muttered. "Makes forgetting about them easier." Marik gave a small groan.

"Why did you have to say that? You've jinxed us!" he whined. "Look who's coming up the street! Hide behind your menu!" I didn't hesitate on slapping the menu onto my face. Ignoring the slight stinging on my forehead, I waited and listened for anything. After a few minutes Marik gave a sigh of relief and I looked up. "It was Ryou," he explained. "I don't think he saw us."

"Yeah, even though we're probably the only tanned people in Japan," I replied sarcastically. He whacked me with his menu and laughed.

"Shut up! At least we were a _little_ less visible!" he chuckled. I laughed with him, but then trailed off and looked wistfully at the distance.

"You know, no matter how bad he was, I can't help but miss him," I said quietly. Marik sobered up and nodded.

"Yeah, I still like Ryou a bit," he murmured, looking at where his former crush had gone. "I just thought that we…clicked. I guess it was all unrequited."

"'Screw them,' right?" I reassured. "We did our best and they're the ones missing out. We've survived two weeks without them; you got my avoidance and I got your A. Right now, we just have to focus on getting our bodies back." Marik paused in thought, then gave a pathetic smile.

"I can only think of one idea," he said sheepishly. "But you won't like it." I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Depends. What is it?" I asked slowly.

"Well, you know Téa?" Marik said slowly.

"Oh no."

"Her boyfriend is a magic fanatic…"

"Oh no, no, no…"

"And he's probably the only one that can help us."

"NO!"

_Marik_

"So you're here for my services?" Yugi asked us in his odd little midget voice. I nodded and smiled imploringly at him, but his attention was all on Yami Marik. Of course; he thought that we were still in our own bodies!

"Um, I'm Marik," I said, raising my hand. "He's Yami Marik. We got switched, and I have a peculiar sense that it had something to do with Ryou's little 'cake.'" Yugi looked at either of us. Téa looked at his reaction carefully, as if judging our worthiness based on his interpretations. I shrunk a bit, but Yami Marik puffed out his chest a little and glared.

"Look, are you gonna help us or not?" he sneered. Yugi frowned at him and then at me.

"Okay, Marik," he sighed, and I gave a smile as he acknowledged that I was the right one. "I see your dilemma. Unfortunately, my potion comes at a price, and it isn't really an easy one to fulfill."

"Name it!" Yami Marik snapped. "We'll do anything!" I nodded, feeling Yami Marik's urgency. Yugi looked over at Téa. She glanced at us and nodded as well.

"I think that they're up for it," she said. "I just don't want them hurt. I know that, er…Yami Marik beat me in the history exam, but I still don't want to punish him or anything," she explained. Yami Marik twitched a bit, but I sent him a warning glance.

"There's no way that they're _not_ going to get hurt, Téa," Yugi admonished. Téa frowned at that, but he continued. "They still have the choice of accepting, though. Here's the deal, you two." Yami Marik and I leaned in attentively. "There's a rival magician that has a certain belonging of mine that I wish to repossess. His name is Duke Devlin, owner of Dungeon Dice Monsters and employee of Industrial Illusions. He recently took a pyramid puzzle from me, an object that I value beyond comprehension." I raised an eyebrow.

"Wait, you're 25, a practical billionaire, and strong enough to crush Devlin's enterprise into dust, but you're whining about a _pyramid_?" I asked skeptically. Téa's eyes flashed angrily.

"Look, he's willing to help! You don't have many options, so I suggest that you take this one and be done with it!" she shouted. "I don't know why that pyramid puzzle is important to Yugi, either, but I would still take the chance if it meant reclaiming my body. Put your priorities in your place." I bristled a little, but she was right. Yami Marik rolled his eyes a bit, but marched up to Yugi and leaned down to stare at him eye to eye.

"I think that you should change us into our own bodies first," he said. "Marik and I don't really know how to control a body that isn't ours, even if we've been parading around like this for a week. If you really want us to make it, you're gonna have to put us in our proper bodies and take us to the manor." Yugi frowned at that, but surprisingly, Yami Marik did have a point. I sighed a bit.

"To be fair, you can limit us with a curse so that if we decide not to get you your item in the allotted time, you can switch our bodies back," I suggested. Yami Marik glared at me, but I rolled my eyes. "Oh, come off it. You know that it's only fair." Yugi gave a contemplative look, then nodded his assent.

"That would definitely work. Alright, let me do this…" he said, immediately bringing out a deck of cards. "Now I just place each one of them in their respective places…"

_Yami Marik_

Marik, of course was jabbering endlessly about being in his own damn body again. I could only grunt and roll my eyes. I was relieved, don't get me wrong, but there was still the issue of Ryou and Bakura that we had to deal with. Not to mention that Marik was completely not my kind of friend. Opposites DO NOT attract, after all.

"-and then, we should play video games until the sun rises!" Marik finished excitedly. "Ryou never let me play video games because he was too scared of the zombies and too appalled at the violence. Can you believe it?"

"Since when are we having a slumber party?" I grumbled. Marik glared at me.

"It's not one of those girly 'slumber parties.' It's called 'hanging out.' It's what guys do when they want to be around their peers and _not_ feel like loners who sit in a corner and do nothing." I rolled my eyes. I missed Bakura, and there was no doubt in my mind that Marik missed Ryou as well. If we were going to move on, it would take a while…

"Hey, there it is," Marik said menacingly. "Let's go." I shrugged and followed. Marik had insisted that we sneak into the building, and I'd wanted to burst through the doors and knock everyone out. We managed to reach a happy compromise: Marik will sneak us around as much as he can, and I'll deal with all the guards we encounter. I tried not to intentionally call some guards along. Marik seemed to be concentrating on getting into the window, and it wouldn't be very effective to beat up some guards while his rear end was sticking out and vulnerable to any sort of taser. The image made me laugh, only because it would set him off like a rabid mutt onto the guards. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea…

Unfortunately, by the time I'd thought that, Marik was already inside and impatiently tapping his foot (soft enough to convey his impatience, but not to alert the guards just around the corner.) I made myself suck in my stomach, but the hardest part of getting though the damned window was trying to squeeze in my broad shoulders. I managed, however, and Marik brought his fingers to his lips. I rolled my eyes. I already _knew_ I had to be silent; Marik only told me this about a thousand times! We made our way through the room, which looked somewhat like a basement. Yugi had told us that the room was highly protected by magical charms, but since we didn't practice any sort of magic, we were immune.

I found myself drifting off into the past, where Bakura and I had snuck into KaibaCorp because Ryou often catered for his company (though someone _else_ was in charge of the cakes) and Bakura had pretended to be him. I'd used tons of hair gel and hidden bobby pins to make my hair look as bland as possible, and by some form of magic, we were let in. I missed those days. Before I could reminisce further, I heard a voice that sent pinpricks of rage down my spine. It was _Ryou_, the one who'd stolen Bakura's affection and left Marik and me with nothing. Well, each other. But that was as good as nothing, as far as I was concerned. I, frankly, thought that Marik felt the same way. Marik's entire body was frozen mid-step and his eyes were locked onto the door in front of us. Ryou's voice permeated from the door, but when he stopped I heard another voice that was, frankly, worse.

"Bakura," I breathed as if someone had just socked me in the stomach. "Hey, Marik, let's figure out what they're saying."

"Why bother?" Marik hissed. "We don't care about them, remember?" I frowned at him, but decided to follow him as he began to leave. That is, until I heard Duke Devlin's voice.

"Whoa! Marik!" I whispered harshly. He turned around, narrowing his eyes at me, before he heard Duke's voice as well. His eyebrows rose, then furrowed with a sort of angry confusion.

"Duke," he snapped. "Why is _he_ talking to _them_?" I grinned and cracked my knuckles.

"I dunno, but now's the time to intervene!" I laughed. Marik's eyes widened, and he grabbed my arm, but I burst through the doors before he could get a word in edgewise.

"What's up, fuckers?" I roared with a maniacal smile. Marik's arm left me and he warily glanced around the room. "Put your hands up where I can see 'em!"

_Marik_

After Yami Marik's little entrance, there was a small pause. Then, before he or I had any time to react, a net flew up from underneath us and trapped us high in the ceiling.

"Marik!" Ryou squeaked. His hand was poised over some document of sorts, but by the way things looked, his pen had clattered out of his hand in shock. I sighed as I felt my anger drain me and desire fill its place. But, it wasn't meant to be. It was _never_ meant to be.

"Duke!" Yami Marik called, ignoring Ryou's outburst with disdain. "Release us at once!" I flinched at how loud his voice was, but didn't try to stop him. After all, he had the right idea. Duke was the only one who we needed to deal with right now.

"I'm afraid I can't do that," Duke replied with a sneer. "You see, you probably lost me the deal of the century!" Ryou gasped and Bakura gave a growl.

"What do you mean, 'deal?'" Bakura barked. "You said that it was a legitimate investment!" Duke rolled his eyes in a showy fashion before snapping his fingers. In an instant, the couch the two white-haired boys had been sitting on had flipped to make some sort of cage. One that they wouldn't be getting out of anytime soon, that was for sure.

"There, now you'll regret not signing the deal sooner!" Duke remarked. I still had no idea what was going on, but somehow I understood that Duke had been trying to get the two to sign something for a failed deal, and somehow we interrupted them and prevented any sort of deal to be had. What I didn't understand was why he didn't just continue the deal with us in the net. We certainly wouldn't be able to stop him. Duke, however, carried on and answered my question for me, "If you had just signed and given me the three thousand dollars for the love potion, I would've been able to set up a much more successful enterprise than that Yugi bastard!"

"L-love potion?" I stuttered. No one even tried to elaborate.

"But now," Duke said evilly. "I guess I'll just have to punish you for not listening." Ryou shrunk back a little into Bakura's arms, and I felt a ping of jealousy, but mostly terror. What was he going to do to them? Bakura let out a growl of challenge, but before Yami Marik could shout his own dissent, our net hurtled to the ground at a breakneck speed.

"WAAAH!" I cried. I braced myself as we painfully landed on the ground.

"You bastard!" Bakura roared. "Mariku! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" Yami Marik grunted his assent and rose.

"Yeah, I'm alright! No need to get your panties in a bunch. Marik, how 'bout you?" he asked gruffly. I nodded, coughing a bit.

"What the fuck?" I snapped, turning to Devlin. "What was that for? We're just here for the stupid pyramid!" Duke Devlin stopped for a moment, staring at me like I'd just sprouted two heads.

"You mean…you're _not_ trying to rescue those two?" he spluttered. "Dammit, I'm so stupid!"

"Well, now that we know that they're here, of course we're going to rescue them!" Yami Marik laughed. "You're about to get your punk ass beaten!"

"I'm afraid not," Duke smirked, apparently over his moment of self-hatred. As Yami Marik advanced on him, he merely sidestepped and a rather bulky bodyguard took his place.

"Crap!" Yami Marik cursed as he barely missed a punch. A sudden thrashing sound was heard as Bakura rattled the cage in fury.

"LET ME OUT! You can't make him fight that thing on his own! Let me OUT!" he roared with intense ferocity. I even flinched a bit at the volume. Did he or Yami Marik have any sense of silence? Before I could try to find a way to help Yami Marik, Duke grabbed my arm and yanked me off to the side.

"No!" I shouted, nailing a good one on his face. He let out a stream of curses before shoving me to a chair I hadn't noticed before. "What is this?" I snapped. I made to stand up before he grabbed one of my shoulders and forced me to sit by sinking his nails into my skin.

"Don't even think about it!" he hissed, clutching his jaw and grinning with a bloody smile. With a tap of a button, he shackled my wrists and my shins. I struggled and shouted at him in vain before he brought out something in a covered dish.

"NO!" Ryou screamed. "PLEASE, NO!" He grasped the cage helplessly, tears streaming down his face. Duke shook his head in an insane way, lifting the dish to reveal…a cake.

"Huh?" I said, raising an eyebrow. It was a very detailed cake, cut into eight slices, with frosting in laces and small, candy pearls making up the ridge. Down the sides, there were intricate loops of icing that formed diamonds with small, white, icing hearts at the intersections. The bottom was dark, indicating a chocolate fudge base. All in all, it looked gorgeous. Duke grabbed the fork that was daintily by the plate and scooped up a bit of the slice.

"Open wide!" he sang, moving the fork towards my face. I frowned, knowing by Ryou's frantic gestures that whatever I did, I was _not_ to eat this cake. Duke stopped his attempt of assaulting my mouth with the cake and merely gestured towards Yami Marik, who was getting severely beaten. "If you want to help your friend, you're gonna have to do so soon. With every bite you take, I'll call off one bodyguard."

"DO IT!" Bakura shouted. Ryou shoved him with a force that I'd never seen.

"DON'T EVEN _THINK_ ABOUT IT!" he shouted back frantically. I wanted to listen to him. I really did. But I could only see his betrayal, his many texts telling me to come over even when he knew I was busy, and his lack of responses to any of my own texts. His eyes when they searched mine constantly, trying to find a weakness that he could exploit. His lies whenever he said that I was his best friend, his anger and references to Bakura whenever I told him that I couldn't come over today…

So I took a bite and chewed. The cake was delicious, and Duke smirked as he called off one of the bodyguards that were beating Yami Marik up. Ryou let out a hoarse scream and collapsed to his knees. I watched as Duke took out another scoop and proceeded to eat frantically, trying not to stare at Ryou. I watched Yami Marik as his oppressors slowly began to back away. He was still, which caused Bakura to try to shake the cage again. To my surprise, there was horror on Bakura's face that mirrored the horror Yami Marik had voiced when we'd talked about the incident that occurred when I'd had my little chat with Bakura. His heart was breaking. It seemed that he was a true liar all along; he cared for Yami Marik more than he ever could admit.

Ryou just stared at me, and I watched him as Duke offered me another bite. I was beginning to feel dizzy, but I was coherent enough to shake my head in refusal at the bite. Duke smiled at me gently, as if he were my mother coaxing me to take the last couple of bites. I realized hazily that we were almost finished with the cake; there must've been a hundred bodyguards around Yami Marik when I'd started. Well, they were gone now, and I shook my head at the next offering. Duke smiled even more as he glanced at Ryou, who'd gone strangely silent.

"If you take the next bite, I'll let them go," he said. I opened my mouth automatically and chewed, finding that I couldn't lift my head anymore.

"Please…" Ryou whispered. For some reason, I imagined that he was saying "please" to me so that I could finish his cake. I knew that the cake wasn't his, and I knew that he was saying please so I could _stop_ eating the cake, but it was _very_ nice to pretend. It made me feel like we were back in the good old days. After I was done chewing, I felt my eyes droop. I still breathed and everything, but I couldn't see anything. Duke let the restraints around Ryou and Bakura disappear, and while Bakura ran to Yami Marik, Ryou ran towards me.

"Eat this last bite," Duke whispered as Ryou closed in on us. "And I'll give you the pyramid." At this point, I really had no choice. I opened my mouth in resignation, and as I swallowed the bite, I saw Ryou's face pinch into one of horror before it all went black.

_Yami Marik_

When I woke up, Bakura clenched my face and smashed his face down on mine. I think he was trying to kiss me, but all that happened was a bunch of drool reached my chin. Ew.

"You idiot," he growled. I thought that he'd been crying, but when I looked at his face, his eyes were murderous. Ah well, knowing Bakura, the two could very well mean the same thing. He held my hand and turned away. I knew that he was still angry with me, but I couldn't really keep from pulling my hand away against his wishes. He only moved his hand onto one of my knees, and I could only roll my eyes. "I have to make sure you don't disappear on me," he said in a low voice, embarrassed at his weakness and refusing to look at me. I looked up at the ceiling, ignoring the tingles of pleasure that zinged from his hand on my knee.

"I'm not going anywhere," I murmured. "What's my damage?" The charade was falling into place again. We were back to living the lie. I was the loyal dog that followed his master and got beaten up for him. He was the unassuming holder of all that made me vulnerable. I felt my body sag a bit at my helplessness. It really didn't matter anyway. I was used to it all.

"You've got a gash the size of Russia on your head. Your shoulders are bruised and beaten. A few ribs are cracked. Your neck is heavily bruised. You're lucky you're not paralyzed with the numerous injuries to your spine," Bakura parroted mechanically, still not looking at me. I laughed, causing his gaze to snap to mine.

"That's all? I can handle that much, I've had worse," I boasted. It wasn't really true, of course, but it worked like a charm. Bakura smacked my knee with a force that made me inwardly cringe at the pain. Things were slowly, but surely, returning to normal. At least, I thought so until Bakura grabbed my hand again. "Hey, what is it?" I asked.

"You're not being discharged until the end of the month."

"That's not all that bad, Bakura. You can hold your own without me for a month," I replied. Bakura clenched my hand in a painful grip that made me visibly wince.

"You're coming with me when you're discharged. You're not going to fucking _move_ until a year has passed."

"Wha…Bakura-!"

"No. Buts. Your things are already packed and I already sold your apartment. You're staying with me. Your school's closer to my house anyway." He turned away from me and fingered the edge of the bed sheet. I could only gape at him, dumbfounded. This sure as hell wasn't the Bakura _I_ knew! His voice came back with an edge to it. "If you ever, _ever_, fight for me like that again, I'll keep you in my house and keep you from leaving."

"Bakura, you're overreacting. I've been skinned alive once, for fuck's sake!" I began. Bakura, however, would have none of it. Before I knew it, he'd pinned me to the hospital bed and glared at me with a snarl that would send any dog cowering with its tail between its legs.

"Listen, and listen _well_," he hissed. "You nearly _died_, you dumbshit. Don't you dare, don't you fucking DARE, play that off as some type of joke!" Bakura was screaming at this point. I flinched away from him, but his hands came and braced my face so that I couldn't escape. "You're just too…I can't explain. But I can't lose you," he choked out of rage and some form of sadness as well. "Not you."

"Bakura! What the hell's wrong with you?" I asked, even though I was pretty glad that there was something wrong with him. Or, in other words, something right with me.

"I…you…gah!" he shouted. "You're _mine_…" And with that, he mashed his lips onto mine and prevented me from escaping. My entire body felt like a car wreck, my pride was irrevocably damaged, but my happiness was through the roof. Bakura didn't really know this territory of explaining emotions, but this was just as good. No, it was _more_ than okay…

"Bakura, you…" I sighed, grinning lazily as he licked his lips. "I didn't even know that you were capable of lust! You always seemed so aloof!"

"Idiot! It wasn't lust…" he grumbled. I couldn't help but prod him.

"Whatever. It was lust in my book," I said off-handedly. "Two sexually-deprived guys looking for some fun and fooling around; I didn't actually get any action when I was…er, I mean for the past three weeks."

"Well, consider your days of picking up hookers officially over," Bakura chirped in mock-sweetness. "You won't be getting any action if it's not from me." He said the last bit with a faint blush on his cheeks, but the effect was somewhat ruined by his evil glare.

"Tch, I'll just sneak outta your house," I said casually, loving this. Bakura was not one to spill his feelings, so this was the best that I was going to get. But it was enough. Somehow, I knew that it would be different than being his loyal guard dog, as I'd always been.

"I'd just have to chain you to the bed," he whispered into my throat, intent on planting soft kisses on my bruised collarbone.

"How kinky."

"Precisely."

_Marik_

I wasn't allowed to do any strenuous exercise, nor was I allowed to eat any sort of milk. The cake hadn't been poisoned, but it had been heavily charmed. I was glad that Yugi had gotten his pyramid back because as soon as he did, he'd cured the spell on the cake such that it would make me sick, not dead. He also, much to Bakura's elation, healed Yami Marik so that he was well enough to be in a hospital and not in a morgue. Of course, he didn't exactly bring us back from the dead. He just saved us from the brink of it.

Ryou had been firing texts over and over again, asking if he could come over and help. I rejected each one of his offers kindly, but he got the unmentioned hint. I wasn't ready to see him yet, and I doubted that I'd ever be ready to meet him. Besides, my family was over and taking care of me. That was the excuse that I gave Ryou almost every time he texted me.

Needless to say, I didn't expect him on my doorstep with a bunch of flowers in his hands. He was glaring at me defiantly, as if daring me to comment. I stared at him and the flowers. I was about to slam the door in his face before he stuck a foot in and pushed the door open.

"No strenuous exercise," he reminded me. His face melted into a crestfallen expression. "I knew that you were mad at me."

"How could I not be?" I replied quietly. "Take your flowers and go woo someone else." Ryou leaned forward and brushed noses with me.

"No," he said simply, but didn't kiss me, like I'd expected. He merely met his forehead against mine and closed his eyes. I felt my eyes close with his as he reached up and combed his fingers through my hair. "I was afraid." I didn't move, feeling all too magical at the moment. Ishizu and Odion had left to get groceries a while back, so it was just us two in the doorway, in the house, in the world.

"Afraid of what?" I asked.

"Afraid of losing you. I spoke of Bakura because I didn't want you to leave me like my father. I didn't want you to think of me as just a friend. I wanted to make you jealous." I felt my face twist into a frown at this cruel admission, but then Ryou continued. "I always had you do everything my way because I wanted you to care about me. And you did. Perfectly." I pushed him away from me, my stupid tears resurfacing.

"I'm not some sort of perfect boyfriend, Ryou," I snapped. "Why don't you get me a piece of cake and kill me now rather than later?" Ryou's eyes widened and he grabbed my forearms.

"Why didn't you listen to me when I told you to stop?" he hissed. "That cake could've _killed_ you if Yugi hadn't been there!" I gazed at him tiredly and roughly shoved him away.

"Please…just go," I replied. "I can't stand you right now. I can't stand you or Bakura. Why don't you two just run off together and leave me alone?" I turned to the door and made a motion to shut it. Ryou instantly placed his foot in the way. "Ryou…" I warned.

"I don't love Bakura. Frankly, I can't stand the man." This was news to me. I looked at him with raised eyebrows. "I only lured him to get to you. People do crazy things when they're in love." I felt my frown pinch again. I wanted to forgive and forget, but I was afraid, just as Ryou was. I was afraid that we'd go back to the way things were, with Ryou taking advantage and squeezing every bit of potential out of me. But then, he did something surprising. He backed away.

"I'll let you think about it," he said softly. "I promise that I won't take advantage of you, and I'd like for us to work through this together. For now, I'll just stay your friend and help you around the house. I won't bring it up unless you're ready to accept or…decline."

"Ryou, I-"

"Think about it for me. I'll be waiting. Now, let's get you some ramen!" Ryou chirped with fake cheer, edging into my house and proceeding toward the kitchen. I watched him, torn by my previous love and my gradual hatred. Well, this was one step in the right direction. Ryou was giving me space, and he wasn't forcing me to do as he wished. Sorta.

I smiled as he carefully put the flowers in a vase. I would give him an honest chance. When the time came, I'd make my decision. Ryou had been such a big piece of my life for so long that it would be torture to spend the rest of my days wondering what could've been. I watched him talk to me in an animated voice. The odds were already in his favor.

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><p>Eh, I don't need page breaks for this one. I hope you all like the bittersweet ending, because I just didn't think that it was realistic for Marik to up and forgive Ryou the way Yami Marik and Bakura forgave each other.<p>

Please review!


	13. Manifestation

**(A/N): **AGH I'm sorry I took forever! This one was one of my favorites, but it still seems a bit rushed, and I couldn't get it right...but I've decided to submit it anyway because I can't find anything that would improve it. Well, okay...tell me what you think!

Lazy Gaga: Ehehe, admittedly, I was hungry when I wrote that. And I was hungry every time I came back to finish it. So poisonous cake was the solution!

* * *

><p>Manifestation<p>

**LOG 1: My Fourth Life**

My name is Ryou Bakura, and I'm the oldest living human. This isn't a lie.

My creators had transplanted my adult brain into my child body over and over again by using techniques that retain all that I'd learned in my lives while still keeping my hormones at the child-level. Don't ask me how. I'm a technological genius, not a biological one. But, all the same, they'd done it. This is the fourth time I'm four years old. I know the program by heart now; I go to school with the other four-year-olds, I play nice and pretend that I don't know my ABC's, my times tables, and my ability to put an entire car together from the basic elements found in nature.

After my daily excursion, I return home and talk to the psychologists who want to analyze my every mood. They want to know how my mind can pick up on things so quickly (as a child's mind does) yet still retain my past intelligence. There really is no answer for their questions, but I humor them all the same.

All I can think of is looking forward to something different. I've been in a million different communities: an Eskimo village in the Arctic, a sweltering hut in the Amazon, random cities scattered throughout the world that I couldn't care less about. The scientists like to move me to different environments to see how I adapt. I do well, as usual, and they scribble in their little notebooks about my success as a test subject. Sometimes I grow irritated, but there's nothing I can really do.

My mother and my sister died when I was (truly) four years old, and my father, a man of exploration, couldn't support me. He dumped me off to this place for the voluntary experiment. They asked me if I could donate my brain after I died.

I was too depressed to say no.

They took samples of my brain frequently so that by the time I was an adult, I had little brain matter left. They cloned my brain and put it into the four-year-old body they had also cloned for me, sans brain. Now, here I am.

My father is long dead, as are my previous playmates and past friends that I'd made in my previous lives. It was an excruciating and expensive process, I was constantly told, but I was still nothing short of a miracle. I didn't feel like a miracle. I felt like a lab rat that constantly had a migraine because my brain was too big for my head, and the lack of cerebrospinal fluid cushioning it caused me to pretty much have a migraine every time I turned my head. The experiment didn't interest me _at all_. No one would be interested if they had to watch the scientists clone a new embryo of their own future body. Once the body is four years old, another one is made and frozen as well. As new vaccines come up, my new bodies are injected with them. These scientists really don't want me to die.

Sometimes I wish I had the courage to jump in front of a train and destroy my brain once and for all, if only to be reunited with the ones I'd loved.

**LOG 2: The New Experiment**

The scientists were all in an uproar today. I came back from my school, Domino Preschool, to see them all arguing about something the Pathology department had done. I furrowed my brows. The Pathology department was in charge of implementing new vaccines into my embryos. I walked a bit closer. Had they messed up somehow?

I didn't bother to know the scientists' names when I learned that they would all die by the time I went to my next life. The brunet male scientist was calmly trying to placate a raging male blond with green eyes. The blond in question was yelling at a female brunette who had, from what I could gather, done some illegal independent work.

"But it's a success!" the brunette argued. "He's _alive_!" Somehow, she managed to shut the rest of them up. The calm brunet was steadily turning pale while the blond was gawking at her stupidly. Quickly, the brunette gathered all her underlings and had them explain her creation, her folly. I couldn't hear everything they said, as they were speaking in low voices, but I caught the words "exoskeleton" and "façade" almost instantly. It was then that the blond man's mind caught up with his mouth and he shouted:

"So you created an unauthorized bug-boy companion for our experiment? What were you thinking?" The underlings flinched, but the brunette looked at him defiantly.

"Careful, Joey, you don't want to make me mad," she warned. "Yes, I created a companion for Ryou. But honestly, the guy _needs_ one! We can't regenerate Marik's brain the same way we do Ryou's, but it'd be nice for Ryou to have a friend that doesn't die years before he does!" This was true. I was immune to most diseases, and Alzheimer's was pretty much impossible for me to obtain, so most of my friends and enemies died before me. I was just surprised that the scientist had thought of my feelings. She didn't even work in the psychology department!

"Look, Téa, just because you have a kid that's about Ryou's age right now doesn't mean that you know how Ryou feels. He'll probably squash the little bug-boy…thing before your idea even works! You're so hard-headed; have you even thought of how Ryou would react?" The scientist―Téa, I believed―clenched her fists and leaned into Joey's face with formidable anger.

"Don't you dare," she seethed. "Don't you _dare_ pretend that you know what Ryou's going through! I'm not saying that I know, but I have way more sympathy for his case than you would probably _ever_ have!" She stormed away towards my quarters, and I hurried down the hallway that I had come from in order to reach my room first. I was intrigued, both by my newest companion and by Téa. When I reached my room, I tried to regain my breathing pattern to make it seem as though I'd always been composed. Téa came in on cue, her hands at her hips and a triumphant grin on her face.

"Ryou, I have a surprise for you," she said slowly. "I got you a friend that will be with you longer than any of the others." Outside, I could hear Joey and the other brunet dashing after her. I voiced my response loud enough so that they could hear.

"Alright. Please show me."

As we made our way through the Pathology department, Téa carried me so that I wouldn't exhaust myself. Somehow, she could tell that I was tired from running, but she didn't ask any questions. The way she held me made me want to cry. It was so gentle, so nice to be held this way. When she began humming, I buried my face in her shoulder and tried to calm myself from the intense emotion I was feeling. She held me like she cared about me, and after I'd collected myself, I asked her why.

"I have a son that's your…er…age," she said with an awkward smile on her pretty face. "His name is Yugi. My husband Atem and I have become softer and prone to coddling him, much to the damage of our prides." She smiled wryly, but then gained a sour expression. "Joey, another scientist who works here, considers me 'soft' because he's seen the way I act around Yugi." I nodded at her, mesmerized by the way she said Yugi's name with complete reverence. "I'm sorry if I coddle you a bit as well, but you can stop me at any time."

"No…" I said softly. "I like being coddled." Téa gave a slight gasp and squeezed me affectionately.

"I knew it," she whispered. "I knew that they were wrong. You need companionship Ryou, and Marik will provide it for you." I nodded into her shoulder and enjoyed the hug a bit longer. It was nice. It felt like someone cared about me.

After a bit of walking, Téa tapped my shoulder and I lifted my face, groggy. I'd forgotten how much sleep I needed in this body since I was growing so fast, but I was also surprised at how much trust I had in Téa in order to sleep on her shoulder in this way.

"We're here," she cooed, looking at the room. I watched her open the door and saw a sight that I hadn't even entertained in my deepest imaginations.

It was, truly, a bug-boy. His body was shaped like a human's, but two antennae sprung from his head and wide, purple eyes blinked at me curiously. His hair was blond, but his skin was tanned, and I knew that it was plain unnatural. He beamed at me suddenly, and I saw that his teeth were ever so slightly pointed, like pincers. With an excited shout, he leapt of the bed in an inhuman manner, and I saw the most brilliant sight in all my days: his wings. They were like a butterfly's, only extremely powerful. He flew over to us and stared at me, nose-to-nose.

"Téa, is this my new friend?" he asked cheerfully. I nodded, but he didn't acknowledge it until he saw Téa nod. "Yay! Finally, now I can play catch!" He flitted over to the other side of his bed and picked out a worn rubber ball. "Catch!" Marik tossed it over to me and I caught it easily with my hands. I inwardly sighed. I could already tell that this kid was exhausting and needed almost constant attention. I didn't think that he would make a very good friend. I turned to Téa to voice this, but then I saw her gleeful expression and I covered my discontent with a fake smile. She was very into this, and I wanted to impress her. I turned away from her and resumed my irritated scowl once my face was hidden from her. Just because she was the closest thing to a mother figure I had didn't mean that I could overlook the fact that I'd only met her an hour ago! All the same, I wanted to make both her happy, and if Marik was the solution, then so be it.

"I'll leave you two alone to play," Téa said happily. I nodded at her with a smile as Marik crowed his goodbye. When the door closed, I immediately went down to business.

"Okay, who are you?" I asked sharply, folding my arms. Marik's eyes widened in confusion at my new tone. He shrugged.

"I'm Marik," he said. "Didn't Téa tell you?"

"Of course she did," I snarled. "What I want to know is how did you come _here_? Where are your parents? Why were you chosen?" Marik stared at me with big eyes, big enough for me to see the honeycomb patterns of his compound eyes. Suddenly, tears filled them.

"I don't know! Why are you asking?" he cried. "You're mean! I don't wanna be your friend!" I flinched at this new development. If Téa came back to see Marik's tantrum, I would probably never see her again!

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" I said frantically. "I just wanted to know! I didn't mean to scare you!" Marik frowned at me and flitted to a corner of the room.

"Go away! I don't want to play with you anymore!" he snapped. I clenched my teeth. Think Ryou, think! I was around three hundred years old! A bratty little boy who just so happened to have flying abilities couldn't stop me!

"If you play with me," I began slowly. "I'll let you touch my hair." Marik's face scrunched up in revulsion.

"I don't wanna touch your hair!" he sobbed. I rolled my eyes inwardly.

"Why not? _I_ would want to touch my hair if I were you," I said. "It's white because I made it out of frosting!" That caught his attention. I smirked. In my second life, a girl had come up to me and asked me out, saying that my "frosting" hair attracted her. I turned her down, of course. Who would want to compare their hair to frosting? Well, this circumstance was an entirely different matter.

Marik mirrored my smirk with his own. I wondered what he was up to when suddenly he swooped down and gathered a bunch of my hair, stuffing it in his mouth. I yelped and fell backwards onto his stomach.

"Hey! This doesn't taste like frosting!" he protested. I forced my over-aged brain to think harder.

"That's because I changed it to taste like hair! I didn't want people to eat it all!" I replied in an instant. Without a pause I touched his arm. "Tag, you're it!" Instantly, Marik's short attention span was captivated, and he gained a competitive gleam in his eye. I began running so I could provide at least _some_ form of challenge. Within seconds, Marik had me pinned against the wall. He was laughing with triumph, but I found that I was laughing as well. It was easy to laugh when playing childish games that diverted your attention from reality. Marik and I resumed playing tag for the rest of the day until Téa came to pick me up. I'd forgotten that my entire motivation for playing with Marik was to have her hold me. In fact, I was sad to part Marik. He was full of life and energy that helped me forget that I was a child genius. He was also very smart. When I asked about his wings, he cheerfully told me that they were biologically engineered so that they could withstand a strong force but light enough to carry wind and allow him to fly. He further told me that he had an exoskeleton underneath his skin so that he could protect himself from falls or enemies. I had marveled at his intelligence and his biology. Marik was possibly the most interesting thing to cross my path since I realized that I was living my second life.

When Téa and I left, he was bawling. My heart wrenched for him, but Téa took me outside anyway. She sighed.

"Little kids often do that," she said sadly. "Whenever I leave, Yugi cries. Atem is there, of course, but he misses me. It's the same whenever Atem needs to go on a business trip. Yugi cries, even though I'm there. I hate coming to work often for that reason, and that's why I only come here once a week." I perked up at that.

"Only once a week?" I asked forlornly. Téa chuckled and mussed up my hair.

"Don't worry. If you want to see Marik, you only have to ask Joey or Tristan," she said. I didn't tell her that she'd misread my sadness, but I felt my thoughts going over to Marik. The kid was a handful, sure, but he seemed fun to talk to as well. We had some sort of common ground after all: we were both experiments in the lab. Speaking of which…

"Hey, Téa? How did Marik get here?" I asked her. She smiled a bittersweet smile.

"He volunteered himself. He's very young, that's true, but he said that he wanted to come here more than anything in his life. His family tried to dissuade him, but he said that he had to. It was strange how resolute he was. When we told him what the experiments would entail, he didn't really understand. All the same, he really, _really_ wanted to be a part of it. I can't for the life of me imagine why." I frowned. I'd thought that Marik was forced to be here, but apparently, he'd volunteered himself. Strange…

"How did you get a hold of him?" I asked. Téa laughed at this.

"I think that the more accurate question would be 'how didn't I.' Marik was attached to me almost instantly because of my experience with kids. I can't help but baby him all the time; he's so cute!" I nodded and smiled. I could see how little Marik, with his chubby cheeks and sparkling eyes, could charm someone so prone to cuteness as Téa. "He always wanted to be around me, so they allowed me to have him. I wanted to keep him there and prevent any experimenting from being done, but he'd always _ask_. At one point, he even put an IV into his arm and got knocked out on the drugs inside because he wanted to be a part of the 'experiment.'

"So I finally allowed it. I decided that I'd make him half-bug, half-human. Everyone else said that it was impossible, but my team and I managed to do it. Marik was all for it and very supportive. I confess that I did that particular experiment because I wanted him to be as protected as possible, with an exoskeleton and certain immunities. I gave him all the vaccines that I give your bodies," she explained. "The only catch is that his favorite food is blood."

"What?" I asked, somewhat appalled. "Blood?" Téa nodded.

"But don't worry. It's more of a dessert that he gets once a year," she said, smiling. "And he only needs a little bit until he's fully energized again."

"Did you take some DNA from a mosquito and cultivate it?"

"Yes. It was the only DNA that would fit inside his chromosomes."

"Wait, so you did all this when he was still an embryo?"

"Of course! We couldn't very well do it when he was a human!"

"But then…where is his original body?" I asked. Téa stopped suddenly and looked down so that her face was covered by her bangs.

"It died. He…he had cancer," she whispered. I felt her hug me a bit tighter. "We did all that we could to stop it, but it didn't work. We somehow managed to salvage his brain and skin, but we had a lot to do about the rest of his DNA."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"His hair wasn't originally blond, as you probably know. His eyes were originally brown as well, but we had to alter the chromosomes as we saw fit because we could salvage no hair samples. He has Mai's hair color as a result."

"Mai?" I asked. Téa smiled.

"My coworkers. They had the closest matching DNA, so we used their chromosomes as a sort of template. Marik's going to grow up pretty tall thanks to Joey, and his metabolism will be fast like Mai's. On the other hand, he'll have Joey's god-awful smirk and Mai's haughty attitude, which you already see," Téa explained. I nodded. We arrived at my room and Téa set me on my bed. "Hey, Ryou? I want him to be your friend, but I also want you to be his. Marik doesn't really have anyone he can play tag with, and since I only come once a week, he's often left alone. It's been especially hard because we had to hide him from the others. Now he's really excited about seeing you, and I don't want either of you two to abandon each other. I know that he's much, _much_ younger than you, but could you at least try to be there for him?" she asked.

"I'm already doing that," I reassured. "He seems nice, and I'd love to play with him again." Téa smiled, and with a kiss to my forehead she departed.

**LOG 3: My Sixth Birthday**

True to my word, I kept being friends with Marik. I also learned much about him that I wouldn't have otherwise known: his motivation for the experiment was the fact that his siblings were getting the money for the tests, and they needed all the money they could get after their parents had died of an epidemic that had swept the area they were staying in for a business trip. I found it admirable and mature of him to make such a decision. He shrugged and confessed that he was the most mature one out of his siblings, even if they were ten years older than him. Another thing I hadn't known was that he was enamored with juice. Téa had been right when she'd said that he loved blood, but she was _dead_ wrong when she said that it was his favorite food. I figured this out when I came inside his room with a carton of orange juice and he'd stiffened up completely. He watched the juice with amazement and promptly few upward. He ducked his head down and gracefully took a sip from the straw, similar to a hummingbird…or a butterfly. From then on, I bribed him with juice whenever I wanted him to do something for me.

In a week, I was turning six. Téa had brought me a cake, and I'd invited some of my other friends: normal schoolchildren. When Marik had learned that I had other friends, he'd become jealous and insisted on meeting them. I'd rolled my eyes and said that they weren't my real friends, but the concept of "fake friends" had flown over his head. I decided that I'd just make two parties: one with Marik and one with my other friends. Of course, when I told Téa as she was rocking me to sleep, she'd become a bit irate.

"I can pin down Marik's wings so that he'll look like one of your other friends," she insisted. I'd frowned at her and tried to explain that Marik was different and that he wouldn't really belong, but she would have none of it. "This is what I meant when I said that you have to be a friend to him. It isn't fair of you to exclude him from any of your celebrations. When he's older, he'll go to a school and have friends just as you will. Do you want him to have a separate birthday party without you just because you're _different_?" That sentence had hit a nerve. The thought of Marik going off and celebrating his own birthday party without me struck me deeply. I was his friend; he wouldn't do that, right? But then I realized what Téa was saying, and what I felt. I didn't want Marik to meet my other friends because I feared that he would like _them_ more than he would like _me_. I became so irritated with this thought that I pushed myself out of Téa's arms and curled up to sleep with my arms folded. Téa sighed patiently, but stroked my hair. I wept secretly, but I think that I might have let out a sniffle because I was in her lap again and she was rubbing my back.

"What's the matter, sweetie?" she asked gently.

"I don't want him to like anyone better than me!" I wailed. I felt so childish, but my thoughts were that of a child's and I could only cry my frustration. Téa continued rubbing my back and giving soothing responses telling me that he would never leave me, but I wasn't persuaded. The thought of Marik finding someone else and spending more time with them while ignoring me was too present in my head. Eventually, I cried myself to sleep.

When I awoke, I felt resigned. I backspaced all the dates on my previous invitations and made new ones that coincided with the date I had made for my party with Marik. The psychologists were astonished at my behavior and encouraged more contact with Marik. I ignored them and stared as the printer I'd made in my third life printed out the invitations complete with cut borders and scented paper. The printer had a sort of machinery akin to a hole-punch that punched decorations on demand, as well as a spray that effectively scented the paper without ruining the ink or making the paper soggy. I took the invitations and put them in my backpack, heading for school. On my way out, I heard a commotion from the Pathology department. I immediately thought of Marik and Téa, even though Téa would be gone today. I rushed to the department to see Marik struggling with five full-grown adults. And winning.

"What's going on here?" I asked with my best authoritative voice. Marik saw me and tears formed in his eyes.

"Where are you going, Ryou?" he asked pitifully. "Can't I come, too?" I sighed, knowing that this was bound to come up sooner or later. Before I could decline, however, a professor wrung his hands in frustration.

"We just need Ryou's permission! If so, then YES! That's what we're trying to do, boy!" he snarled. Marik pouted and glared at him, but I looked at him curiously.

"What are you talking about?" I asked. The professor smirked at me.

"We're going to take up Téa's suggestion and pin his wings and antennae back. I've already gotten approval from the Psychology department because they want to see how you'd react to Marik's constant presence," he said proudly. I nodded slowly, then turned to Marik. Hesitance shone in my eyes. Did I really want Marik to go with me? Did I really want him to leave me for some other, better friends? I sighed. Of course I didn't, but I knew how it felt to never go outside and see the real world. It wasn't fair of me to deny Marik the right.

"Marik, you're going to need a backpack like mine-" a scientist immediately procured one, "-some food for lunch-" immediately, five juice packs were added inside the backpack, "-and something for show and tell." One of the scientists grabbed a flowerpot with a new flower growing in it and shoved it in Marik's hands. One of the scientists pinned Marik's wings back while he looked at me with doubt in his eyes. I gave him a reassuring smile as the other scientist held out his backpack. He stared at the backpack before tentatively taking it. I smiled at him. "Now we can go." Marik beamed at me.

"That was so cool!" he cried. "You pretty much told them to do whatever you wanted!" Some of the scientists gave indignant snorts while I ignored them and went out the door with Marik.

When we reached the school, Marik's eyes were like saucers. He looked at everything around him with curiosity and interest. When the teacher approached us, one of the scientists (acting as my father and Marik's uncle) told her that he'd be enrolling Marik into school as well. She agreed and forms were filled out. Marik, meanwhile, was happily drawing on a sheet of paper with crayons on one of the desks in front of him. The kids seemed to mill about and not notice the fact that he had tanned skin and blond hair. When he saw me staring at him, he looked up and gave a grin. He presented his picture to me, and my heart melted as I saw that he'd drawn us going to school in the scientist's car. With a smile, I joined him on the table and began drawing my own picture.

"Hey Ryou!" called a girl named Vivian Wong. "Come play with us!" I looked over to where she and others were trying to build the largest building out of blocks, trying not to look too disinterested. Marik gasped as he realized what they were doing. He got up to go over there and I felt a twinge in my chest. He was _my_ friend! Not Vivian's! I immediately quashed the thought and followed him.

"Can I play, too?" he asked shyly. Vivian smiled a broad smile.

"Of course!" she chirped. "I'm the mommy, and Espa Roba is the daddy!"

"Can I be the kid?" Marik responded.

"Sure! You'll be the little girl!"

"B-but I'm a _boy_!"

"Uh…oops! I'm sorry! You can be the little boy, then!"

"I'll be the neighbor," I cut in. "I'm a ninja in disguise." Marik grinned.

"That's so cool!" he said. "I wanna be a pirate!" Vivian looked somewhat annoyed at how the game was turning out, and eventually it turned into a game of superheroes where we were all trying to save Princess Vivian. I thought that it was overrated, but Marik was enjoying himself and we had to be fair to Vivian, who had much more of a princess complex than a superhero complex. Espa Roba, the cyborg, played the villain in our little game. He suited the part, talking loudly and monotonously. Sometimes I would find Marik covering his ear comically as Espa Roba spoke, and I laughed as he played innocent when Espa Roba turned to him. It was a fun day. The alphabet became infinitely more interesting when Marik started to whisper element names to me as we sang the song (Aluminum, Boron, Carbon, Dubnium…) and he helped pass out the invitations to my party. He stuck by my side, but also talked to other people. I found that there was really no point in being jealous. It was like sharing Téa; I knew that she had a family, but I still felt like she cared for me. It was nothing like the drama I had thought of initially when I thought of Marik leaving me forever.

The week passed quickly and happily. Marik made new friends and I maintained my old ones. When my birthday rolled around, every guest came. Marik and I had a blast at the party. When I cut the cake, Marik had cheered the loudest. I truly felt like I was on top of the world at that point; Téa was there with Atem and Yugi, my teacher was there talking with my "father," and the scientists were avoiding the room like the plague to keep up the semblance of a "house." It was only when my birthday was over and the next day came that the news fell on top of me like a ton of bricks. It was Joey who'd come up to me after Téa had tucked me in.

"You're going to be separated from Marik for a year," he announced. "Maybe two." I sat up with a look of revulsion and shock.

"What?" I snapped. "You can't do that!" He sighed and sat down on my bed, pressing both hands to his face. I felt tears start to well up. Losing Marik in this manner? It was so…final, and I was helpless to stop it.

"Look, I don't want to do this!" Joey suddenly snapped, seeing my tears. "It's the damned Psychology department! They want to see what it'd be like if you and Marik were left apart for a while." I shook my head, sniffling.

"I can tell them right now. It'd be horrible," I choked. Joey sighed again and put a hand on my head. I didn't even regard it in my upset state. It just wasn't fair!

"I can give you two years until he has to leave," he said. "But you're going to have to undergo some tests." I nodded at him. Any stupid test was worth staying longer with Marik. I paused and wondered when Marik became such a priority in my life. Tests were painful and long, often dreadful for the person involved. Then again, somehow, not seeing Marik was infinitely worse. I pondered about it a little longer as Joey stood and left. I presumed that he was going to tell Marik. I frowned. There was no way I could leave Marik, not when I promised I'd be his friend. Not when he stayed by my side for this long.

That night, I stole into Marik's room where he was staring out the window, tears on his cheeks. He looked at me and I smiled at him reassuringly.

"Let's run away," I said. "I have more than enough provisions, and you'll only need to bring your juice boxes." Marik smiled at me sadly. I began to speak more frantically, hoping that he wouldn't refuse. "I found a way out! All we have to do is go through the security mainframe by climbing through the vents. If you can just fly me up…"

"Ryou…"

"-We can go wherever you want! I know you'd love to visit the world! I promise, we'll have a stable job and income-"

"Ryou!"

"And I'll invent a LAKE of orange juice for you! I'll give you all the blood you'll ever need!"

"RYOU!" Marik shouted, and all my plans crashed as I realized that the shout must've awakened someone. "I can't go anywhere." I ran over to him and clutched his forearms.

"Yes you can! You can go anywhere in the world with me!" I insisted. Marik pulled his arms away.

"I can't. I mean it, Ryou," he replied quietly. "My siblings, remember?" I felt my face drain away of its color. His siblings. Of course. "They need the money that I'm providing. If I leave, I won't be able to provide for them." I collapsed on the ground in front of him, defeated. I wanted so badly to make it work so that I would never lose him, but it was impossible. His wings twitched anxiously and he knelt down in front of me.

"Don't cry, Ryou," he said softly, even as he was doing so himself. "It'll only be for a little while…"

"Four years isn't a 'little while,' Marik," I said bitterly.

"They said that we only have to leave for two years," he protested.

"They said that I would get a new body in three years. It took them five," I retorted. "It's gonna take a while, Marik…" We stared at each other, tears in both of our faces, before I leaned in and gave him a peck on the cheek. "We have two years to be together. Let's make the most of it." Marik nodded and wrapped his arms around me, burying his face into my shoulder as he sobbed.

**LOG 4: The Teen Years**

For six years, I hadn't seen Marik. Those years went by quickly for me, but I ached throughout. When you live forever, after all, time seems to speed up. At the beginning, I'd been distant and disengaged. I wanted to disappear and see what the psychologists thought of _that_. I didn't, though. I wanted to see Marik again.

Finally, finally, I saw him again at twelve years old. We had our two years together and four years apart. I had to blink my eyes several times in order to reassure myself that it was him, but when he dashed across the laboratory corridor and into my arms I let out an elated laugh.

"You're here," I mumbled, stroking his hair repeatedly. He nodded into my arms, antennae twitching excitedly as they touched my hair.

"I'm not leaving again," he said resolutely, pulling away and carefully kissing me on the cheek, just as I had done that fateful night. I smiled at him and tightened my hold.

"Good, because I don't care if your siblings need the money. We're running away if they try to separate us again."

Things were relatively straightforward then. It wasn't until Marik turned sixteen that they became complicated again.

I had never fallen in love in all three of my previous lives. Sure, I tried, but I could never find the right girl. Imagine my surprise when the scientists had told me that I was gay, judging by my behavior and a cluster of neurons in my brain. I hadn't remembered until now. Now, when Marik's hair glinted in the candlelight as he made one last comment to one of his friends before we all started singing the birthday song. Now, when he winked at me as I belted out the last line. Now, when he blew out the candles on the cake and I imagined him "blowing" something else.

It wasn't fair.

Day in and day out, I'd watch him just be himself. He had friends, of course, but I was one of his closest, the way he was my closest friend. It didn't take me long to figure out that my feelings for him extended just beyond any feelings I had ever had for anyone else, even my mother figure, Téa. She knew that I was obsessed with Marik, and she never failed to mention it whenever she caught me staring. Which happened a lot.

When we were both eighteen, Marik started spending copious amounts of time at a local club. I'd wait for him to get home so we could duel and play video games together, as we always did, before flying around after dark. He was strong; there was no doubt about it. He could lift weights that were thirty times his own and picked me up with one hand. It was lovely, watching the sunset and sunrise in his arms as he hovered over the hustle and bustle of the city life. Half the time I watched _him_, not the sun. He was gorgeous, especially when his face morphed into one of glee at the disappearance or appearance of the sun.

"Ryou, what are you thinking about?" he asked one day as I was daydreaming about whisking Marik away to the place I'd envisioned when we were both six. Only…there was a lot more touching involved with this particular daydream…

"Nothing, why?" I replied. I cursed myself; I'd replied too hastily. Marik's eyes narrowed and he paused the game he was playing to turn to me.

"You're quiet and red. Is it some girl?" he asked, smirking. I sighed, wishing it was. My life would be a whole lot simpler if this was a random crush on a girl instead of a hot and heavy crush on my best friend.

"Don't worry about it," I grumbled. Marik shrugged and turned back to his game. His antennae swerved excitedly with the car as he performed daring stunts that didn't prepare anyone for actual driving. I turned my head from the game, finding it disinteresting, and focused on a picture on the wall. It was of us as kids, with Téa in the background. Marik was hugging me and flying at the same time while Téa made sure that we were both safe. I smiled sadly. That was the year before he left. I stared at the picture a bit longer before turning to Marik.

He was rambling on about how one of his friends had thought that he was asking her out to a dance only to rant at him when he asked another girl out. I felt my frown tug deeper as possessiveness took over, but I shook my head out of it. It was Marik's life. He'd gained one after I left, and when I came back I was still the closest, but also a whole another world. It was similar to the way I'd invited him to my school. There were two worlds and he belonged in one of them. Only not. I straightened as I realized that I'd incorporated him into my group of friends, and if I wanted to be closer to him, I'd have to get to know his own friends. I smiled and tapped Marik on the shoulder. He turned while keeping his eyes on his game, much to my distaste.

"Hey, can I go clubbing with you and your friends tomorrow?" I asked as persuasively as I could. Marik's eyebrows rose and he looked at me with surprise, letting his car burst into flames.

"Seriously?" he said awkwardly. I wanted to shy away from the awkwardness, but I reminded myself of my goal to be closer to Marik. I forced myself to regain confidence, pretending that this all was a test to see if I was able to stick up for my feelings.

"Yeah," I replied. "I want to go." Marik chewed his lip. "Is there a problem?" I asked uncertainly.

"No, it's not that!" he replied earnestly. "It's just that my group of friends don't really fit into your category." I raised an eyebrow.

"My 'category?'" I replied dubiously. Marik flushed and flailed his arms.

"That's not what I meant! I mean…" he stuttered. Eventually, he sighed when he couldn't come up with an argument. "Alright, fine, you can come." I smiled at him, but inside, I felt frightened. Marik knew me better than anyone. If he said that his friends weren't in my "category," then they really weren't. I wondered if I was absolutely sure I wanted to do this. Looking into Marik's face and remembering that I didn't want to lose him, I decided to nod my head in assent. He merely sighed and ran a hand through his hair, stopping to tug at one of his antennae. He only did this when he was stressed, which worried me even more. Somehow, however, I managed to hold my ground. After a brief stare-down, Marik nodded back and turned to his game.

"I'm not going to stop you or anything," he said. "But if you feel uncomfortable at any time, then be sure to tell me and we'll leave."

"Will there be a bar?" I asked. He shook his head with a fake disappointed smile.

"Of course," he chuckled. "It's a night club. If you don't know _that_, you really need to get out there."

"That's precisely what I'm doing!" I whined. "Oh, and don't let me humiliate myself if I drink too much." Marik rolled his eyes.

"That's generally something you have to watch _yourself_ for," he answered. "But fine, only because it's your first time." I rolled my eyes. It was _not_ my first time because I'd done some clubbing in my second life, but I took Marik's statement to mean that it was my first time in _this_ life. Since he agreed already, I decided not to push the argument any further. I jumped up excitedly as I thought of the prospect of getting drunk. I was quite the alcoholic in my second life, but I vowed not to overdo it in this body. The psychologists were _not_ happy when my intelligence levels dropped down at the speed of light.

After Marik left, I went to my room and turned on the ceiling computer. I used a remote to indicate my intentions. I'd made this when I first figured out what a projector was and I'd never stopped using it for mundane things. Such as clubbing attire in this era.

It took a long time, but when I was ready, I managed to make myself look dead sexy. At least, that's what I'd thought when Marik came in wearing normal clothes and laughing at me.

"We're not going to a _strip_ club, Ryou!" he howled. I scowled at him.

"This isn't stripping attire!" I retorted, trying to save my damaged pride. "What do you suggest I wear?" Marik flushed a bit.

"Er, I don't know," he said hesitantly. "Your green shirt. The one with full sleeves." I glanced in my closet and found the shirt. Taking off my "stripper's" clothes, I put on the shirt and realized that it accented my muscles quite nicely. I looked up to find Marik staring, only to turn away once I caught him looking. "Looks nice," he muttered. "Now put on the jeans."

"No," I hissed, glancing at the jeans in my closet. I'd hated them ever since Marik bought them for me at a whim. Jeans were too heavy for my tastes. I preferred slacks or even shorts, even in the cold weather. Marik frowned and flew over to my closet, plucked the jeans and tore my pajama pants off all in one second. I flushed, but I didn't have time to create a fantasy because he suddenly shoved the jeans onto my legs. I slowly pulled them up, wondering if I was imagining the heavy flush on his face as he regarded me.

"Marik?" I asked. He shook his head a bit and smiled at me.

"You look great," he said, smiling.

"Thanks," I scoffed. "I'd look better if I wasn't wearing _this_." The door bell rang and he freaked.

"Ah! Ryou, pin my wings and antennae down quickly!" he shouted. I found the materials needed to complete the task and finished it in five minutes flat, wasting no time admiring the beautiful patterns on his wings as I usually did. Marik dashed out to answer the door as soon as I was finished. I heard odd voices coming from the entrance: a deep, masculine voice, a shrilly girl's voice, and a sarcastic, biting voice. I made my way to the corridor to see a man that looked like me, a man that looked like Marik, and a small blonde girl who looked like she was under 18.

"This is my friend, Ryou. His last name is the same as your first name, Bakura!" Marik announced. I looked at the group and let out a feeble "hello." The man that looked like Marik (but somehow crazier) guffawed and grabbed my hand, giving it a hearty shake.

"Hey, I'm Yami Marik, courtesy of my little buddy over here. Don't worry about us! We don't bite," he said animatedly. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Bakura licking his lips and looking at me up and down, as if appraising an item. When he caught my gaze, he let out a feral gaze and mouthed "much." I decided that I would stay away from him for the duration of the night. The blonde girl jumped up and down excitedly.

"My name's Rebecca!" she giggled. "I'm nineteen, according to this ID Marik managed to get for me!" I glanced at Marik with surprise. He gave me a sheepish grin.

"Rebecca's extremely smart for her age, so I thought 'why can't she drink as well?'" he explained. I gave him a look, but didn't push the matter since it didn't really involve me. We went out to the car, where Bakura promptly leaned against the hood and grinned at me.

"These are my wheels," he boasted. "It's too bad none of you guys even have a car yet." Marik gave an irritated snort.

"It's not my fault my parents aren't rich like yours," he sniffed, glancing at me. I shrugged, not really caring about whether Bakura had a car or not. I preferred to ride my bike, as my past lives have persuaded me that cars were just a way to speed up life, even if we were all going to end up dead anyway. Bakura opened the door and gave an elaborate bow, ushering me into the passenger seat. To my surprise, Marik went and plopped down on the seat, glaring at Bakura. Bakura gave a small snort and slammed the door, and to my terror I saw that Marik's fingers had been in the way when he'd slammed it. My fear abated when Marik smiled at me and waved his perfectly intact fingers. Exoskeleton of steel, right.

"Come _on_, Mariku!" Rebecca said childishly. "I wanna get to the club _before_ I'm age-appropriate!" Yami Marik chuckled and got inside the car's backseat. Rebecca got in after him, leaving me squished between the window and a hyper-active teenager. During the car ride, I learned that Marik's friends were definitely _not_ in my category. Apparently, Marik was the "mature" one, Bakura was the "playboy," Yami Marik was the "crazy" one, and Rebecca was the "hyperactive prodigy." When I asked her what the "prodigy" part meant, she merely tossed her head egotistically and grinned.

"You'll see," she said, giving me a wink. I sighed. She was the prime example of a girl who loved being surrounded by guys for whatever reason. It reminded me of Vivian, a while back, and how she was the princess among the superheroes.

"We're here!" Marik called. I gave an inward sigh of relief. Marik's friends were exhausting, more than Marik himself! I pretty much jumped out of the car and stretched, exhausted with the people inside it. Marik came out and whispered in my ear. "Told you they weren't your type!"

"Yes, well, my friends are hardly _your_ 'type' either," I retorted, feeling a bit irritated. We made our way to the entrance, where I saw exactly how Rebecca was a prodigy (she managed to emasculate the bouncer and make him cry). I was, however, too preoccupied to be impressed. I knew that my irritation had no basis because he'd explicitly warned me, but I had still had higher expectations. _These_ were the people I was losing Marik to? _These_ people? Was I really such a low standard?

I needed booze.

Thankfully, Marik caught my expression and pulled out his wallet, handing me some money and grabbing me. I followed him as he left his friends and headed to the bar.

"I want you to have as much as possible without getting too drunk," he said quietly. "I know you probably drank in your past…yeah. But still, you can come and dance with us at anytime instead of drinking the night away." I smiled at him. Marik was so caring, even when I was being somewhat unfair to him. He smiled back, looked around quickly, and kissed me on the cheek. I felt my cheeks flush, but turned away and ordered some drinks before I could make a daring move and ruin what friendship we had. With a sigh, Marik left. I watched as his blond head disappeared among the crowd with a sense of sadness. My drink came and I coolly sipped it. I felt my back prickle in annoyance and I turned to find Bakura making his way towards me. I turned back to my drink with a disgusted face. I didn't feel like flirting.

To my surprise, he slammed money on the table and rudely called for the bartender. I watched, amused, as the bartender gave him a dirty look but then saw the amount of cash Bakura had set down on the table. He then gave a grin and made his way over.

"What'll you be having?" he asked pleasantly, as if he didn't want to secretly massacre the white-haired man in front of him.

"Surprise me," Bakura snarled. "And make it so that I won't know my own name anymore." The bartender nodded and left to make a drink. My eyebrows rose as Bakura sat down.

"Wow," I drawled. "Someone's got issues." I took another sip as he glowered at me.

" Shut the hell up," he snarled. "You have no idea what I'm going through."

"I'll be the judge of that," I replied, taking another sip. "What's your issue?"

"Mariku," he growled.

"Ah…" I replied. I understood. There were no questions asked. I didn't know whether Yami Marik had killed Bakura's favorite puppy or whether he'd insulted his appearance, but it didn't matter. We had a mutual understanding: we were going to get as hammered as possible.

"Party lights are brilliant," I muttered, though it may have come out slurred. My stomach heaved a bit, but I managed to quash down the urge to vomit. Bakura nodded dazedly.

"Wonder where the bastard is," he grumbled.

"Wha' bastard?" I asked.

"Marikuh."

"Oh. I dunno. Maybe with Marik?" Somehow, this just got him enraged.

"He's always with Marik! Marik _this_ and Marik _that_! Imma sick of it!" he shouted, slamming the table. "Why can't he talk about _me_?" I began giggling.

"He can't talk about you when you're right there, silly!" I laughed, patting his head. I was laughing _hard_. There was nothing funny, but it was just the situation…

"Ryou!" someone called. I blearily looked up from my empty glass to see Marik making his way to me. Bakura growled beside me.

"Fuckin' bastard," he hissed. I felt a flare of anger.

"Hey! You b…back off…" I managed to say before I let out a large belch. "He's mine!" Bakura looked at me with amusement, and I realized that if we weren't so drunk, he'd be laughing at me right now. I gave him the dirtiest glare I could muster before standing up and hobbling over to Marik. At least, that's what I thought I was doing before the ground rushed up to meet my face.

"Ryou!" Marik called again. He caught me and held me up. "Are you okay? Aw, man, you reek! How much did you drink?"

"Jus' a little tipsy," I said before retching. Marik gave a gasp of surprise, but I managed to keep the vomit down.

"Dammit Ryou! Hey guys, I'm going to walk home!" he called. Rebecca protested, but Marik managed to convince her that "fresh air would do me good." Besides, he stated, Bakura would be pissed if anyone besides him barfed in his car. Yami Marik nodded and grabbed Bakura, who was currently yowling and trying to reach one more shot. He easily swung him over his shoulder and plucked the keys from his pocket, as if this had happened a million times before today.

"Hate you, you bloody bastard!" Bakura roared. "Put me down and let me get the damn fucking drink!" Yami Marik merely rolled his eyes and made his way outside, Rebecca in tow. Marik carried me outside and into an alleyway, where he unpinned his wings and began to fly with me in his arms. I giggled at the beauty of the sight. Marik looked at me and smiled before slowly flying home. I nestled myself comfortably before shooting my arm out and grabbing a bit of his hair. He let out a startled shout that was immediately covered by my mouth.

The kiss was sloppy and weak, not to mention one-sided. Marik pulled away quickly, but I frowned and grabbed his antennae, shoving his head down onto mine. He tried to speak, but I focused on licking his mouth and trying to get inside it. He kept trying to pull away, and eventually I yanked his antennae hard enough to get him to scream. My tongue immediately dove in and I shuddered at the sheer pleasure of it all. Marik let out a gasp of breath and he slowly landed on a building.

"Ryou…please let go," he pleaded. I growled and shook my head. I didn't want to let go ever again. He would just go back to Mariku or Bakura or whoever the hell that other girl was. I wouldn't let him. "Ryou, please. I'll…I'll kiss you when we get home." I gasped in surprise, though it was an exaggerated gasp.

"Okay!" I giggled. "Let's go!" I released his antennae and he sighed as he flew upwards once more. I suddenly heaved again, and this time I couldn't keep my vomit down. Needless to say, we took really early showers that night.

I had the worst headache in the history of mankind when I awoke. The headache, however, was nothing compared to the humiliation I felt. Had I really kissed Marik without his consent? Had I really made him promise that he'd kiss me when we got home? I frowned as I stood from my bed and began to brush my teeth with the automated toothbrush I'd invented. I vaguely remembered showering with him, though we'd kept our boxers on. I could play the ignorance card and pretend not to know what I'd done, or I could pretend that I'd been interested in Yami Marik and I'd merely mistaken Marik for him. The latter seemed a bit of a stretch, however, so I decided to go with the former. After my teeth were clean, I made my way to my door with this in mind when suddenly the door swung open and Marik was standing right in front of me with folded arms.

"What the hell, Ryou?" he said flatly. I flinched inwardly, but made my expression as stoic as possible.

"What are you talking about?" I said with my eyebrow raised. He sighed and leaned down, pressing his lips to mine. I felt my eyes widen, but he pulled away far too quickly for my liking. We stared at each other before he shrugged and flushed cutely.

"I know that you're faking it. You're twirling your hair. At any rate, _I_ remember making a promise, and I just fulfilled it. Now…I've gotta call my friends," he muttered embarrassedly, turning around. He didn't get far. I slammed him to the wall, taking him by surprise, and sealed my lips onto his. He'd just brushed his teeth as well; I could taste the mint. "Ryou!" he cried after he managed to twist his head away, but I used the cry to shove my tongue into his mouth and explore. Marik tried to peel me off, but I clutched onto him with all of my power. Once I pulled away, he tried to speak. He really tried, but I didn't let him.

"You're not going to say that this is a mistake. You're also not going to say that you don't love me. I've seen the way you look at me," I muttered, pressing my forehead to his and watching his purple eyes widen.

"What's gotten into you?" he whispered. I smiled gently and kissed his nose.

"I'm in love," I explained. "And you're the lucky winner. Claim your prize." Marik blushed even harder, turning away. He fiddled with his pants pockets, looking at anything but me.

"You're usually so soft-spoken and…nice," he said softly. I frowned at him.

"You're usually loud and boisterous, not the 'mature one,'" I retorted. "Look at me, Marik." He turned to me with his eyes showing his insecurity. "Everything is going to be alright, okay?" I reassured. "Just as long as you love me."

"Ryou…I do love you, really I do," he murmured. "But I don't see how this is going to work." I growled and held him tightly, knowing that with his exoskeleton he was anything but hurt.

"It's going to work, and I'll show you. Step. By. Step," I said huskily. He gulped and I shoved him back into my room. I closed the door so that no one could hear the moans and grunts that filled the room a few minutes later.

**LOG 5: The Escape**

No matter how many times Marik and I had a hard day cleaning the laboratory, I was all-smiles the morning of the cleaning. Marik would usually be dead asleep and unwilling to perform any sort of chore. It was strange, I decided, the way he usually woke up so early but didn't when we had our chore days. I'd asked him numerous times if he could get up early and move a coffee table so that I could vacuum, but each time he'd shake his head and his eyes would glint mischievously.

"You can't really expect me to do any work, can you?" he drawled, grinning at me.

"Whatever," I replied. I would ask him repeatedly, nearly every time, but he'd say no. Eventually I stopped asking, and we both were happy.

This morning, however, was different in one prime way. So many things had happened last night. The events began when I had finally resolved that I couldn't live another life without Marik, but when I had asked him about going through the same program that I was going through reliving himself again, he'd shaken his head.

"I can't. Living forever is too much pressure," he had said softly. "Besides, it'd kill me to have to see you die more than once. And what if one of us outlived the other? I don't want to be known as a pedophile, thank you very much." I'd begged and pleaded with him, but when he refused, I'd begged and pleaded with the lab. Téa had understood all too well, but Joey and the others had been non-sympathetic to my case. They'd refused me instantly, nearly kicking Marik out again, but I'd protested that I would not act up again, lulling them into a wary compliance. Once I'd reported this to Marik, he'd looked at me with pity.

"It seems that there's nothing we can do," he had mourned. "I'm so sorry." And now here we were, with Marik in my arms and the sky looking desolate. Marik shifted and looked up, finally awake. He gave me a smile that petered out into a frown once he realized that this wasn't any normal situation.

"Ryou…" he muttered, his face looking down. "I'm sorr-"

"Don't say it," I hushed. "We're breaking out of here." Marik frowned, obviously miffed that I was bringing this topic up. I did it at least once every week, but as I'd said before, today was a different day.

"You know I can't."

"Marik, _please_. We'll go live with your family. Two men like us are certain to find a job!"

"That's exactly what the institution will expect. Ryou, I can't endanger my family that way!"

"You can at least find out what they've been up to!" I protested. Marik paused and stared at me. I knew that I'd found his weakness. "They never even let you visit Ishizu and Odion, did they?"

"I still get letters from Ishizu," Marik snapped. "And the handwriting is the same every time, so you can't argue that fact either."

"Forgery isn't limited to the black market," I snapped back. "Even prestigious institutions like this one have their downturns!" Marik frowned at me and tossed his head angrily.

"I know that they wouldn't do something this cruel!" he ranted, turning away from me on our bed. Suddenly, Téa's voice filtered in through the intercom that connected the psychologists to the room.

"Yes they would," she said breathlessly. "Marik, Ryou, they're firing me because I'm supporting your leave. You have to go now, before they ruin you for the rest of your lives, and then some!" Marik and I stared at each other, wide-eyed, before jumping out of the bed and pulling on our clothes.

"Téa! What do you know about my family?" Marik cried.

"I recently found out that they're rich enough to rival this institution. Your sister's been trying to hack in, but she hadn't made any headway until she somehow managed to get through the security system and e-mail me three days ago! Your money helped them at first, Marik, but when Ishizu had a business of her own, the institution recalled the income. You have to return _now_! The psychologists are in a meeting and Joey can't stall them forever!" Téa cried. I was ready, but Marik was frozen, frowning at the intercom.

"I don't believe you," he said simply. I gaped at him.

"Are you serious?" I all but shrieked. "She's probably the only one we can trust!"

"I didn't do all this for nothing!" Marik yelled back. "I didn't waste my life in this stupid place for no purpose!" I gritted my teeth and decided that I had no choice. With purposeful strides, I grabbed his antennae and dragged him, screaming, to the window. With a clench of my fists, I brought his face to mine.

"I'm not opposed to leaving you here," I growled. "I really want you with me so I can spend the rest of my life with you, but if you choose to wait here for a fruitless cause while I see the world and truly _live_, then it'll be your own undoing."

"Ryou, I can't just leave behind everything I worked for!" Marik pleaded, wincing at the pressure on his antennae.

"You'll be killed, Marik!" I roared. "They're keeping you here because you are my partner! They kept you all these years because you were my friend! If I leave, they'll _kill_ you! You're only draining their money by forcing them to take extensive measures to hide your wings and antennae. They're not researching _you_ at all. They're researching _me_, and if you don't come with me, you'll be in for it!" Marik bit his lip, broken. His tears wavered in his eyes. I felt my own eyes blur as well. It was hard leaving the place I had known all my lives, but it was for Marik. If he still decided not to go, then I knew that I would stay for him. He was my ultimate undoing. After a long stare, he slowly nodded and looked down with tears in his eyes.

"Fine. Let's go," he whispered. "But promise me that if my family is still in poverty, we'll come straight back here and live out the rest of our days." I began to shake my head, but he began to pull away as well. I was forced to agree.

We made our way through the underbrush on the west side of the institute. I had figured that if we exited from the east, where our room was, the institute's security was sure to catch us. I had left footprints and broken branches, as if Marik and I had flown off into the distance in the east, when in reality, we'd flown to the west and kept to our feet. There was no doubt in my mind that the institute would use their planes to track us, and walking would limit our danger. Marik was restless, but I smiled as he kept his hand in mine. I smiled even more as he made slight winces with every step, evidence of my work. He caught me smiling and glared.

"It only smarts a little bit. You've fucked me too many times for it to really hurt," he snapped. I still felt smug. We hadn't had sex in a while prior to last night because we were busy with our stereotypical jobs that we were assigned. In this life, I'd decided to be an inventor capable of making ergonomic devices. It was, evidently, the right choice, seeing as it made the most income for Marik and me. At any rate, we'd been working very hard to keep up with the demands of our work (Marik had been a civil engineer) and hadn't had time for any sex in a few months. Marik was definitely bound to feel the effects of last night acutely.

Before I could delve in my thoughts for too long, Marik grabbed my hand and pulled me to a nearby tree. I gave a cry of surprise, but the roar of the planes overhead drowned it. I squinted up and realized that our former facility's logo was on it. Marik clenched his teeth and continued holding me. He needed comfort, and I willingly gave it to him.

"Let's move," I whispered once we let go. If the airplanes realized that they'd been going the wrong way, the men on land probably did as well. Marik nodded and grabbed my hand, squeezing it for a good measure.

"Okay," he whispered. "Let's do this." Marik took off his shirt and pulled me up onto his shoulders and held my thighs, which were wrapped around his waist. He offered me his shirt. "Use it as a substitute pair of earmuffs." I nodded, and Marik crouched a bit. "Tell me when you're ready." I knew that we were going to fly higher than we ever had by the way he was taking all the necessary precautions.

"Are _you_ ready for this?" I whispered. The cracking of twigs behind me answered my question just as he did.

"I don't really think that I have a choice in this case," he grumbled. His wings started flapping, moving the trees around him. There were shouts of surprise around us, indicating that we were surrounded. Marik gave my thighs a reassuring squeeze before rocketing upwards.

And it was beautiful. We were reaching towards the cloudless sky, and I could see that the planes were heading away from us. In the time that it took them to turn around, Marik was already flying eastward, rushing through the beautiful flora and fauna that surrounded the institute. I looked ahead, ready to leave my former life behind. I saw the morning sun making its way behind a cloud and the early morning flights of birds relishing their freedom. I clutched Marik's shoulders as our packs lay snug on my back. He retaliated by turning and giving me a reassuring smile. We were far ahead of our oppressors, no doubt underestimating the strength of Marik's wings. I frowned as I realized that we would have to stop at some point.

"Marik, where exactly are we going?" I shouted at him before realizing that I wouldn't be able to hear his response. He smiled at me and winked. I shrugged and took it in stride. I trusted Marik more than anyone in this life, so I closed my eyes and concentrated on relaxing myself. It would be hard, but it was worth it. I didn't want to return to my old life as an experiment. For the first time, I felt worth and love manifest in my heart, and I wasn't willing to let that go. For the first time, I was truly _free_.

**LOG 6: The Final Chapter**

We slept at the Dark Magician Inn before Marik suddenly decided that he would skip the Red-Eyes Black Dragon Inn and make two trips in one. I'd gaped at him originally, but he hadn't budged on his idea. I suddenly realized, as we were flying, that Marik was one of those people who never could manage to do things halfway. He was much too ambitious and determined, two qualities that I usually lacked. I was, honestly, contemplating on returning to the institute when Marik had turned and stared at me on our rented bed.

"Would you rather stay and live your monotonous life forever?" he had asked. "Would you rather see nothing change for the rest of your life, and not have a family that stayed with you as you grow? I'm doing this to see my sister, but I'm also doing this so you will have me as a friend and that you won't wake up to find me dead while you're living another listless day. You're probably the loneliest man I know, Ryou Bakura, and it's because you think in your heart that your life has no meaning when it's been lived over and over again. Well, it has meaning to _me_. I know that if you retreat back into that institute, you'll never be happy. I'll never be happy without you. So tell me, Ryou Bakura. Are you going to follow this thing through?" With that argument, how could I have not?

Marik's ambition had soared after that midnight discussion, resulting in this plan to make it to his house before nightfall when the trip was originally planned for two more days. He and I tossed our things into our respective packs, exchanging curt sentences back and forth such as "here's your toothbrush" and "found the brush." I felt married, then, but I didn't voice the sentiment. It was much too early to mention something like that.

We took off at eight o'clock. I marveled at Marik's speed; I could hardly see the passing buildings due to his eagerness. I smiled into his neck. He was excited to finally see his family, and he was also excited to share that gift with me. I was touched, to say the least. I was also very excited ever since Marik's inspirational rant, finally beginning to entertain the thought of actually having a family that didn't use me like an experiment…

It was then that a shot fired directly east of where Marik was flying. I muffled a yell as Marik gave a panicked lurch to the ground, and my heart stopped when I thought that the rogue bullet had managed to hit him. He flew upright, however, and teetered a bit before regaining his center of balance.

"You okay, Ryou?" he shouted, and I read his lips to understand his question before answering a "yeah" of my own. I looked behind me and my jaw dropped. Six planes were tailing us, six _jets_ by the looks of it. I gritted my teeth as I saw Marik clumsily dodge their attacks. He was able to sense the bullet before it landed with his compound eyes, but only just. I knew the institution's shooting patterns by heart, having to learn self-defense tactics by observing Tristan, the head of the military department. I frowned as I closed my eyes and focused on the shooting patterns. Of course, there were stray shots when the men thought that they wouldn't be able to get us, but I also knew evasive flying tactics from my third life, where I was a pilot. I grabbed Marik's antennae and caused him to panic even more.

"I know what to do!" I cried. "Just follow my lead!" I roughly yanked his antennae upward and caused him to lurch upward as well. I smiled at his compliance and tugged his antennae to the left. He obeyed, dodging yet another bullet. At the same time, I felt a feeling of dread. Marik was flying as fast as he could, but we couldn't keep dodging bullets for a long time. Judging by the time we already had covered, we wouldn't be able to make it on time. I felt tears prick my eyes as my dream, a dream that I realized that I'd had for a long time, splintered and cracked because of a few planes that were firing at me and my lover with the intent to lock me away from happiness forever. Marik was tiring quickly. His abundant energy was waning because of his constant dodges, and the planes were close enough so that I could see the institution's logo. _No_, I cried in my head. _Not like this!_

Our salvation came in the form of a lone jet that fired rapidly at the planes behind us. I saw a child with messy black hair before Marik became unconscious and began to fall. I screamed fully then. The other planes dove down to catch us, but the lone plane caught us before the rest and I felt my head jerk as my jaw felt the effects of the impact. My concern flew to Marik when I realized that his arm was bent at an abnormal angle and spewing great globs of blood. _His exoskeleton!_

"Get in!" the black-haired boy cried as he opened the cockpit and took great gulps of air. I shoved Marik in before settling in myself. They boy took off in a random direction with the other planes in hot pursuit. I worriedly tended to Marik's wound with the shirt around my ears. His bone wasn't broken, but I didn't know whether his exoskeleton would ever grow back. I felt tears drip down my eyes. It was all my fault; if I hadn't agreed to such a hare-brained scheme, Marik and I would be safe inside the institute where there were people who could provide us with medicine and care. I ducked my head over Marik's unconscious form and let my tears go. They dripped on his face before I leaned down and kissed him. The boy made a snort of disgust.

"He'll be _fine_!" he protested. "If he's anything like Ishizu, he'll be up and ready in no time!" My neck snapped towards him as I recognized the name.

"Ishizu?" I asked cautiously. The boy grinned.

"Oh, right, I haven't introduced myself, have I?" he chirped, as if there weren't any deadly planes behind us bent on shooting us down. "My name's Mokuba, and I'm Ishizu's brother-in-law. My brother and Marik's sister got married in order to merge their large companies seamlessly, but in my opinion, there's no one better for Seto! They fight a lot, but they really can't live without each other!" I gaped at him. This was Ishizu's brother-in-law? That meant, if Mokuba succeeded in losing the enemies, Marik and I could have a family…

"Pleasure to meet you, Mokuba," I replied shakily, excitement making its way through every vein. "I'm Marik's boyfriend, Ryou." Mokuba rolled his eyes, as if to say that he could tell. I remained vigilant and hopeful, watching Mokuba expertly maneuver the aircraft to dodge every one of the enemy's shots. He picked up a communicator from one of the many instruments and turned it on. "Lil Bro reporting to Big Bro! Come in, Big Bro!"

The communicator gave a bunch of static before an angry "What?" sounded from the other end.

"We have a few pursuers who are after the Package. I need reinforcements and documents." The static came back, but this time, the response seemed excited.

"They made it? You're brilliant, er…'Lil Bro'. I shall meet you on the landing dock."

"Roger that!" Mokuba cheered back, and we began to descend. The planes tried to follow us, but missiles shot out onto either side of their formation and they were forced to stop. A loud voice came from the landing port that we settled on.

"If you trespass any further, Ishtar-KaibaCorp will have permission to shoot you," a voice snapped at the planes. Out strode a man with a billowing white jacket and a microphone. His eyes were a piercing blue and his face gave a stern look of no-nonsense. The planes didn't move, but he wasn't done yet. "Let me make this clearer. If you don't move your asses, I'll sue you until you won't have any sort of money to ruin any more lives, and I'll shoot you with every bit of military arsenal!" he roared. The planes quickly flitted away as Mokuba rushed out and greeted the man.

"That was amazing, bro!" he said enthusiastically. Kaiba, I presumed, smiled down at him lovingly. I felt elated a bit, even as I brought out the now conscious and bleary Marik from the plane.

The family was looking out for us. Everything was going to be all right.

**Epilogue: A Family**

Marik and I died at the same time. We were victims to a car crash involving a drunk driver, and I had gotten my head bashed in. My brain was officially no more.

Marik had gotten suffocated as the car had flipped and trapped him in a cramped place. We weren't found, and he died a bit later.

We had both gotten our souls judged by the scales and were able to depart into the Afterlife without hassle. Well, aside from the intense fear we had to share at the thought of not ending up in the same place, but at least we got past all that. It was a beautiful utopia that made for a perfect recollection area. I laid my head down on Marik's one day, contemplating the slowly moving clouds overhead.

"This is perfect," I murmured. He nodded at my statement, causing my head to bob alongside his. His antennae were gone, as were his wings and exoskeleton. Marik was as he would've been if he'd grown up as a normal boy. And he was still very, very sexy. I cleared my throat. "I'm glad that we found your family and were able to live our lives without hassle." Marik frowned a bit.

"The thing is, I didn't want to die at such a young age," he complained. "I wanted us to live our lives to the fullest, but dying at 40 years old is definitely _not_ a full life."

"Death is a relief," I sighed, watching past pharaohs and soldiers forming a parade. The Afterlife was similar to Earth geographically, but it was far more relaxed. There were still wars and battles, but they seemed to be in good humor, as the people could not die. There was also an overarching sense of peace that represented the laws of etiquette. We couldn't get angry too quickly, but we could love easily. This place was…perfect. The only sadness we had to face is the fact that our other family members were down in the real Earth.

"Hm, perhaps," Marik replied. We were much more relaxed here than we ever were in Earth. Despite the prestige that Ishizu and Seto had gained, we had still been on the run and the institute had kept tracking us. The only reason they didn't salvage my brain after the car accident was because Ishizu managed to get a hold of it first and preserve it long enough so that the necessary neurons wouldn't be able to be salvaged. Marik and I were buried, as custom, but we still shared some Ancient Egyptian customs due to Ishizu's knowledge of the past and our mutual interest in it. I was glad, because I felt that our road to the Afterlife had significantly eased because of our ceremony.

"Let's find your sister again," Marik said. "Your mom is bound to worry." I smiled as I realized another good thing about the Afterlife. It took people away from their loved ones, but also brought them back to the already dead ones. Amane and my mother were some of those people, along with the friends I had made in my second and third lives. Marik reunited with his mother, but his father, apparently, had been judged as cruel and selfish. I shuddered to think of what that meant, but Marik looked somewhat relieved. I decided that it was for the best.

We got up and I held Marik's hand as we searched for my sister.

* * *

><p><strong>(AN): **Yup, I had them go to the Afterlife. That's totally not random or anything...T-T

There is no way I could make it so that the transition from science to magic could be any more gradual. Well, maybe I could, but there's already too many themes for that...


	14. Nurture

**(A/N): **Back again, much quicker this time!

* * *

><p>Nurture<p>

The ocean was a clear, deep blue. Inhaling, the woman took in the salty breeze and felt the magic within her tremble and turn. Taking in as much breath as she could, she closed her eyes. Her breath held, and she envisioned the life in her stomach. Was the baby feeling any pain? Were there any alterations in its growth? Was the baby even aware of its mother's misery? Téa let out the breath and watched the open sea as the breeze selfishly took her breath and toyed with it on top of the waves.

This was the last place that had not been conquered. This was the last place where she could maintain her life uninterrupted. Her hand rested on her stomach lightly, hesitantly. Téa hadn't wanted to become pregnant, but it had just _happened_. A moment of passion with a man she'd trusted and who'd loved her for the longest time…

But no. She wasn't going to dwell on that. The being in her body was now her only possession. Even the white gown she wore was someone else's. They'd conquered everything, from the ground under her feet to all the technology humans have ever made. But they hadn't conquered the ocean or her child. Those two things were still hers. With a sigh, she lifted her hand and stared at the ring shimmering on top of it. She'd managed to escape Yugi, her husband and the father of her child. She would raise this new heir in her own way, in her own house, by her own rules. This child would never forget what the world had lost. This child…the heir of the ocean.

With another inhalation, she felt her feet move closer to the water. Her toes curled around the wet sand. She took such steps until she was ankle-deep in the water. With another exhalation, she let all of her magic out and formed a sort of bubble around her body. Téa slowly entered the water without any complications. Her underwater rule wouldn't be like her husband's, the ruler of land. Her toes uncurled, and the bubble protecting her from the water disappeared.

* * *

><p>"Marik, you're not old enough," Miho said exasperatedly. "How many times did your father tell you?" The small boy pouted up at her and folded his arms. "Don't you dare use that pose with me, young man!" Miho growled threateningly. Marik's face paled, knowing exactly what happened when his mother got angry.<p>

"But Momma!" he cried. "I've already seen every inch of this castle! I wanna go outside!" Miho frowned at him with a stern look that clearly said that this was the end of the discussion. Marik slumped, knowing that he couldn't say anything else to his mother for fear of inducing her wrath. Miho gave him one last glare before sighing and tugging at her roots. Marik, Ishizu, and Odion had been children born out of Miho's first marriage with Hank Ishtar. It was only when he died that Tristan pulled her out of her miserable domestic life and married her, even when she had three children already. Miho looked at Marik's slumped back with a bit of distaste. He was the one who most resembled her with his purple eyes and blond hair (she'd been blonde before she'd dyed her hair purple in middle school). But Marik still held the characteristics of his father, namely his obnoxious behavior, tan skin, and inability to keep quiet. Miho often had to slap some sense into him, but still, Marik never seemed to learn. She didn't realize what effect her slapping on him, but Marik slowly grew more resentful of the cooped up castle and Miho's constant beatings.

Marik didn't know the inner conflict his mother was in whenever she regarded him. He didn't know that he was the epitome of her life with Hank, the epitome of what they had created together. Ishizu and Odion weren't the perfect blend of father and mother; they were more like their father and Miho could easily forget that they were, biologically, her children. Marik, however, had purple eyes. Purple eyes were extremely hard to come by these days. That was what made Miho stand out in the first place.

What Marik did know, however, was that he had to plan his escape before his family saw it fit to keep him trapped in the castle forever. Odion and Ishizu were in on his plan, but they didn't play a crucial role in it. No, Marik had to play the entire role on his own, only asking his siblings for advice. Ishizu and Odion readily helped, understanding that their brother was treated the worst in the family and had to escape…

"So, I've decided the day!" Marik exclaimed loudly, bouncing up and down on his chair. He was seven years old and a ball of energy. Ishizu and Odion looked at each other exasperatedly.

"How many times do we have to tell you Marik?" Ishizu said. "Keep it down! You don't want Mom to hear, do you?" Marik flinched slightly, but as usual, bounced right back.

"I don't care!" he shouted triumphantly. "Let the whole world know! I, Marik Ishtar, am es-" His statement was halted when Odion clapped a hand over his mouth.

"Marik," he said sternly. "Ishizu's right. If anyone finds out, you're not going anywhere." Marik frowned and deflated behind Odion's large hand. Ishizu pouted at the fact that Marik readily listened to Odion while clearly ignoring her. With a huff, she turned her heel and left.

"What's up with her?" Marik asked. Odion rolled his eyes slightly and sighed. He understood that Ishizu, at eleven years old, was a preteen who was upset that her older brother of sixteen years had more authority, but she was far too overdramatic when she found that no one would listen to her. Then again, Odion mused, girls always needed another girl that they could talk to, and ever since Aunt Téa left right before Marik was born…

Odion shook his head. He wasn't even permitted to _think_ about the fiasco.

"So, tell me quietly," he said to Marik. "What did you come up with?" Marik grinned and leaned in as if conspiring the world's demise.

"I'm going to run away the day after my birthday! That's when I lock myself up in my room for the entire week to play with my toys! _That's_ when I'll run away!" Odion nodded and smiled.

"That's a very bright idea, Marik. But I have to tell you; Ishizu and I can only cover for you for one week before we have to confess that you disappeared. It would be very suspicious if we didn't see hide or hair of you throughout the entire week, especially if we're the ones who usually check up on you every now and again," he said. Marik frowned a bit but nodded.

"I'll tell Espa Roba the plan and make sure that Mako knows to be ready with the materials as soon as possible! Oh, I can't wait!" Marik babbled excitedly. "Tell Ishizu this when she comes back, okay? I'm going to tell Espa Roba immediately!" Odion nodded and Marik practically flew out of the kitchen. He darted through the halls of the castle at breakneck speed, reaching the servant's quarters and running headfirst through the door.

He collided with Espa Roba himself, as well as his many brothers.

"What! Marik, what are you doing here?" Espa Roba cried. "I've already talked to Mako and…"

"That's not it," Marik said breathlessly, his eyes shining. "I'm leaving in a month, when it's my birthday! Mark your calendar, Espa Roba! I'm leaving! _I'm leaving_!"

"Don't have a heart attack!" Espa Roba reprimanded. Had Marik been a child borne of Tristan and Miho, or any of the other rulers of the Elements, Espa Roba would have been ostracized immediately, possibly sentenced to murder. However, since Miho treated Marik as if he were an illegitimate child, Espa Roba was only a little below him in reputation. "I can tell Mako that. He'll have to double his production, though, and I don't know how well he'll bode to that…"

"It'll be fine!" Marik said exuberantly, slapping Espa Roba on the back. He dashed off with an excited whoop, leaving a flustered Espa Roba wondering how he would break it to the already put-upon Mako that Marik was shortening his deadline.

* * *

><p>"Ryou?" Téa called. "Ryou, don't pop out at me again! You know Mommy can't handle that!" A soft sigh was heard before a mob of white hair appeared from behind one of the fallen pillars of Téa's castle. Honestly, that boy always snuck behind pillars and scared everyone who passed for fun. It was as if the world was too big for him to go out and explore, but Téa fervently wished that her son would travel outside the castle and into his future kingdom without completely making a mess of himself. She sighed. Ryou's agoraphobia was beginning to grate on her nerves. Every mother's worst fears involved her child depending on her forever. What will Ryou do when she died? Téa's fears soon caused her to constantly take Ryou outside for practice. Eventually, Ryou could go outside at whatever distance, but only when he was clutching his mother's hand in a death grip.<p>

"Hi Mother!" Ryou said brightly. He put a hand on her stomach. "How's Amane?" Téa smiled and patted her newly pregnant belly.

"She's perfectly healthy. Did you talk to Father about your family trip?" she asked. Téa had remarried when Ryou was five and she'd been comfortable in her kingdom. Atem was firm but attentive to her needs, and he treated Ryou as the son he never had. Ryou adored him, and that had been enough for Téa to consent to Atem's proposal of marriage. The fact that he looked somewhat like Yugi didn't put her off one bit, especially since his mature personality differed greatly.

"Father said that we'd only be going to the coral reef. I'm fine with that," Ryou said proudly. Téa smiled. The coral reef was only a bit away from the castle, but the fact that Atem usually swam away first and then asked Ryou to follow promoted Ryou's independence. It also was the farthest Ryou would ever have gone if he managed to make the distance.

"Great job, Ryou! I'm so proud of you!" Téa crooned. She ruffled his hair good-naturedly before continuing to walk to her office. She sighed. Ryou's white hair wasn't normal. He'd gotten it as a result of his stress adapting to his agoraphobia. Every time he stepped outside, his hair seemed to get even whiter. Téa fingered her own auburn-blue hair. After spending so much time underwater, she'd gotten a slight bluish tinge in her hair that was all-too natural for a magical human in a sea-environment. Ryou, however, only had the faintest tinge of blue. Téa knew that he had an extensive aura of magic stored in his tiny body, especially since he could also move the land. If anything, his hair should be gray. Any color would be preferable to the white hair he currently sported…

In the meantime, Ryou prepared for his voyage. He was thinking of white as well, but more in the terms of white noise. His Mother had told him that he would be hearing a lot of white noise, noise that filtered into the background, due to the accumulation of his powers. He didn't know what this meant at first, but as he grew older he realized that he could predict the coming and going of ships. When he turned seven, however, he began to hear when the ships would take off and how many feet were getting on board. He would hear amphibians getting on land and padding their way onto the infested beaches that interfered, more and more, into their breeding patterns. He would envision the tectonic plates moving, and sometimes, he would play with it a little. Always, some stronger force righted the tectonic plates and scared Ryou into scurrying back into the safety of his mother's arms. Ryou didn't tell Téa that he was scared of going outside only because he was afraid of meeting with that fearsome power who had the potential to crush him every time he refocused a tectonic plate, no matter how small his alteration was. Téa didn't know that he explored often from the safety of his home, but didn't have the courage to actually go out and see the world for himself because of a "presence". She would think that he was even more abnormal, which pained Ryou into silence.

The coral reef was only a quarter-mile away from the castle, and as long as his father was with him at the end, Ryou could handle it. He slung the knapsack over his shoulder and swam to the entrance of the castle with trepidation on his features. The front entrance always held a feeling of foreboding to Ryou, something he didn't enjoy. Luckily, Atem was waiting for him and Ryou felt instantly comforted. He grasped Atem's hand and began to swim with him to the outside world.

"Alright now, Ryou! I'm going to swim off and you'll follow when I give the signal, okay?" he said reassuringly with a comfortable squeeze to Ryou's arms. Ryou nodded with a determined expression and watched as his stepfather, a native ocean-human, swam off slowly and made sure that Ryou kept him in sight. Ryou forced himself to relax, but the colors of the outside world were overwhelming and he was deathly afraid of being alone. Closing his eyes, he did what he usually did when confronted with these sorts of situations. He envisioned the water around him and the tectonic plates. The all-consuming force was still there, but there was something that gave Ryou more of a reason for concern. He zeroed in onto a shift in the tectonic plates that seemed irregular. There was a sort of device, unnatural and simply odd, sticking into the molten core of the Earth. Ryou clenched his teeth. It felt as if something was invading his area, something sinister and unrelated to nature. He clenched his teeth and disregarded his stepfather's call. He would right this!

With a small exhalation, he moved a tectonic plate so that it would crush the strange contraption. He didn't hear his stepfather's shouts getting progressively louder, but focused on the destruction of the item. It was all too suddenly when he saw that Atem had become desperate in his shouts. He looked over at him to see that Atem was caught in a net. Jaw dropping in horror, Ryou screeched and swam to his stepfather. Atem shouted at him to move away, but then his form grew still as he looked beyond Ryou with shock. Ryou looked behind him to see the castle falling apart because of a tectonic plate.

"MOTHER!" he cried. Atem suddenly grabbed Ryou's hand through the net to get his attention.

"Ryou, get out of here! Go out towards the ocean! I'll handle this!" he shouted. With a mighty tug, Atem broke free from his restraints and swam quickly to the falling castle. Ryou swam away from the net but didn't follow Atem. All he could see was the tectonic plate, the mighty tectonic plate, about a million times bigger than his castle, smashing it to pieces. Atem quickly dove in and tried to save his mother. Ryou began to hyperventilate and looked at his hands. If he hadn't provoked the machine…if he hadn't done that last interference…

The almighty power was mad at him. It was punishing him for interfering by hurting his parents. Ryou gave a strangled cry before swimming away from the wreck as fast as he could. He couldn't watch as his home fell to the ground with all of his loved ones trapped inside. Ryou tried to swim faster into the blue nothingness. The citizens of the ocean were all rushing past him to help against the destruction of their leaders, but Ryou himself caught no one's eye. They didn't recognize the heir of the Ocean because he had never ventured too far from his mother before…

Ryou found that his muscles were giving out. He looked down and saw that there was nothing but a blue abyss. With a groan he began to float down, not having the energy to swim anymore. The blackness swallowed him up, and suddenly, Ryou knew nothing.

* * *

><p>"Mako! Is that you?" Marik called. The man that he was calling turned around and gave him a grin full of malice.<p>

"Marik Ishtar! What a _pleasant_ surprise!" he seethed. His façade dropped when he glared murderously at the boy. "What were you thinking? At first I thought Espa Roba was joking when he said that you were shortening the deadline, but when he wasn't, I had to pull a whole ton of shit together! It doesn't help that there's going to be a storm at sea!" Marik looked up at the clear, sunny skies.

"Storm?" he asked. Mako gave a spiteful grin.

"Ah, never mind what I just said," he replied, planning to give the boy the terror of his life later. Mako was confident in his ability through a shallow storm, but he could always feign discomfort. "Let's just get on the ship and onto another continent, shall we?" Marik nodded enthusiastically and made his way up the ramp. It had been the adventure of his life just to escape the castle with Ishizu and Odion's help. They'd helped him through a small, secret passage and Espa Roba had guided him to the docking areas. Thankfully, Marik had only managed to get lost twice and he hadn't seem to stick out of the crowd when he wore what he called his "Rare Hunters" cloak. Ishizu and Odion had wished him the best of luck. Marik didn't know how heavy his siblings' hearts were when they realized that they might never see him again. Marik didn't even consider the fact. In his perspective, he'd be returning home after his entire journey was through. Ishizu and Odion hadn't known his expectations, however, and with tearful goodbyes, they'd parted.

The seascape was thrilling. Marik inhaled deeply and overwhelmed his sinuses with the salty breeze. Though it smelled less than appealing, Marik considered it the smell of freedom. He walked on board with Mako and suddenly fell.

"Whoa!" he cried. "Mako! This…this is so WEIRD!" Mako looked at him with an amused smile.

"You don't have your sea-legs yet, Marik," he laughed. "Just wait. You'll get used to it." Marik watched with awe as all of Mako's crew began to set sail. His belongings were immediately taken to his cabin. Marik watched as some men used their magic to push the boat off the dock. Boat magic was a minor sort of magic, limited to a special few with awesome strength. It was nothing like the technological magic his stepfather held, nor was it anything like the magic Uncle Yugi held, either. This magic was only particular to one action. Stronger elementals were capable of much more powerful, and devastating, things.

Marik felt a bit queasy with the constant lurches of the ship, so Mako took him to his cabin.

"You get first class for the amount you paid me," he announced, and proudly opened the doors to show Marik his room. Marik gasped in awe. The seven-year-old saw things that he couldn't imagine in his wildest dreams. There were images depicting battles with sea monsters, rows of sharks' teeth, and even a spyglass in a glass display that looked like it hadn't been used in many years. Marik wandered in, enchanted by the room, before turning to Mako with a happy grin.

"This is the best!" he cried, launching himself into Mako's arms. The man looked surprised at his happiness, but returned the hug nonetheless. Mako felt warmth fill him with the satisfaction Marik was showing. It was apparent that the boy appreciated his treasures, something that the crew had seen all too much in their lifetimes. With a laugh, he clapped Marik on the shoulder.

"I'm glad you like it, m'boy!" he replied. "This is where you'll be staying for the next forty days!" Marik nodded and began to make his way to the bed before the entire ship gave an unnatural jolt. Mako and Marik fell onto the floor, spread eagle.

"What was that?" Marik gasped fearfully, unused to the way the land was trembling beneath him. Mako made his way to the door after getting up, prepared to bark orders, when a voice came from the deck.

"Captain! We're moving at a breakneck pace!" the sailor shrieked. "We're also not on course at all!" Mako cursed before exiting the room. Marik hesitated, but then followed him out. Another violent lurch came and suddenly the ship was sailing sideways.

"Wha-" Marik began, only to fall to the opposite side of the ship. He felt his stomach hit the ship's rail and promptly had the breath knocked out of him. He looked over to the mainland and saw, with no small amount of shock, that the docks had all but crumbled. "Oh…oh no!" he shrieked. "MAKO! The docks-! They're gone!" Mako only spared him a glance before trying to fix the "sideways boat" problem. Marik felt yet another lurch, but this one was far more powerful. Keeping his eyes on the mainland, Marik saw his stepfather's most prized communications tower fall through the city like an upside-down rocket. Marik gaped at this new development. That tower reached all the way to the center of the Earth! The only way it could sink is if the tectonic plates themselves were moving…

Marik suddenly screamed. Another violent lurch had him toppling over the side of the ship. Mako yelled out his name once, but Marik couldn't hear. The sideways moving ship smacked him as he went down, and all went black as he felt his skull sustain heavy impact.

* * *

><p>The water pressure was strong, but Ryou's bubble kept the pressure off. He had a restless sleep with the amount of energy he was unconsciously using to keep himself alive with the bubble, but he still didn't stir. The tears had long dried, but their effect on his eyes and his emotions caused him fatigue. He couldn't fathom ever being happy again.<p>

Eventually, he was holding on to the last wisps of sleep but was unable to return to where he once was. Opening his eyes blearily, he looked at warm body beside him with a bit of a start.

It was a boy, not an ocean-boy but a _boy_, was sharing his breathing bubble. With a cry, he lurched up and shakily moved away from the sleeping land-dweller. Immediately after his bubble moved away from the boy, the boy began to convulse. Ryou watched as the boy's eyes popped open and his face started to turn blue. Ryou knew that he couldn't, he just _couldn't_, let the boy die. With a tentative step back, Ryou covered the boy once more.

The boy was still choking on the water, and Ryou felt an overwhelming sense of responsibility over his life. With a lurch, he sharply pressed down onto the boy's diaphragm and tried to expel the water. He didn't know that there'd been tears in his eyes until he let out a choked sob that surprised even himself. The boy couldn't die! Not when Ryou was already responsible for the possible deaths of his parents!

Gasps suddenly broke into the bubble. Ryou collapsed with relief on to the boy's chest, wracking sobs overwhelming him. The boy's heartbeat was rapid and shallow, but soon it evened out to a normal, deep rhythm as he remained alive and well. Ryou sagged with relief and calmed himself, lifting himself from the boy and staring at him. The boy looked at him with fear, just as much fear as Ryou himself was exhibiting, but he also looked at him with expectation. When it was clear that Ryou was not going to speak, the boy took matters into his own hands.

"Wh-where am I? Who are you?" the boy stuttered. Ryou frowned.

"I-I'm Ryou. Who're _you_?" he asked. "This is…my ocean. Why are you here?" Ryou tried to put as much authority in his voice as he could muster, but he couldn't hide the slight tremble that was overwhelming his legs.

"I'm Marik," Marik said slowly, suddenly gaining an understanding. His voice came out, slightly panicked, in a torrent of words that Ryou could barely follow. "I just wanted to get across the ocean so that I could be free, but there was this huge earthquake and the ship was moving sideways and I hit my head on the side-"

"I get the idea," Ryou said quickly. He analyzed Marik as if Marik were a gem that was worth appraisal. "So you came from up _there_?" Marik nodded slowly, frightened out of his wits. The overwhelming sense of water rushing around the bubble that Ryou maintained was unlike anything Marik had ever seen before, and frankly, he didn't want Ryou to take it away again and inadvertently kill him.

"I'll do anything you want!" Marik wailed, his panic finally overtaking him. "I'll…I'll be your eternal servant!" Ryou felt his eyebrows rise in surprise. Slowly, a small smile etched its way onto his face.

"I…actually have something that you might help me with," he said. "I lost my parents, and I need t-to find them…" The memories came back in gruesome detail and Ryou found that he couldn't keep his eyes dry. Marik watched with increasing trepidation as Ryou fell to the ground and covered his face with an arm. "I miss my Mother…y-your first task as my e-eternal servant is to bring her back." Marik felt his heart sink as he went down to Ryou's level.

"I'll help. My Mom doesn't care about me anyway," he said softly. Ryou looked at him with surprise in his watery eyes, but Marik looked pragmatic about it, as if it was a known fact and not a lamentable truth. It made Ryou sadder, but Marik's reassuring smile comforted him with the strength of the tectonic plates. With a small nod of his head, he leaned forward and hugged Marik. Marik's eyes widened as Ryou's face pressed into his shoulder.

"My friend, Serenity, had a Daddy that didn't care about her. She said that hugs are the best medicine," Ryou whispered. "I'll give you as many hugs as you need." Marik felt his muscles relax. He closed his eyes and returned Ryou's hug awkwardly. Growing up, he and his siblings hadn't really shared such intimate moments in their lives. He tried so hard with his mother when he was little, always clambering onto her lap and begging her to stroke his hair or hold his hand. And here was Ryou, offering him everything when they'd just met. A string of hatred began in Marik's stomach, but he ignored it in favor of continuing Ryou's hug. He somewhat sensed that Ryou needed the hug as much as he did.

After a moment of hugging each other, Marik pulled away and looked at Ryou.

"Did you fall into the sea as well?" Marik asked. Ryou smiled and shook his head.

"I've lived here all my life. I'm able to control the water," he replied. Marik's eyes widened.

"You mean you're like those people who can control random things with magic? Like…like the way some people can control boats?" he asked. Ryou nodded.

"Some ocean-people can control how fast plants grow or where the fish swim. I can do all those things and…" Ryou trailed off, waving his hand dismissively. "It doesn't matter. A fat lot of good it did me anyway." Marik looked down, remembering that Ryou had just lost his parents. He reached out and grabbed Ryou's hand.

"It's time to go," he said resolutely. "It's time to find your parents. This isn't the time to look into the past." Ryou looked at him with a bit of relief. Here he was, a small boy who had lived a sheltered life and had been too young to realize that he didn't have to follow his parents. Marik was a boy with a sense of direction who knew what he was doing. Ryou knew, in that instant, that he would follow that crown of golden hair anywhere. Grasping Marik's hand, he roughly pulled him so that they were face to face.

"It'll be easier if we do this," he whispered, leaning in and pressing his lips to Marik's. Marik flushed a bright red while Ryou remained calm. He raised a hand and popped his bubble. Marik gave a gasp of shock as water rushed around him. He started to hyperventilate in expectation, but then realized that he could _breathe_.

"Wh-what did you do?" he stuttered. Ryou smiled at him proudly.

"I let you breathe."

* * *

><p>They'd wandered for many hours without speaking, but holding hands. Ryou was busy marveling at how Marik's hair floated behind him and reflected the underwater sunlight. Marik was busy contemplating where to go next. Ryou had wrapped the two with heated water. He said that he'd been walking in one direction, but that direction had been a long journey and that a boy like Marik would freeze if they didn't have this extra insulation. Marik had agreed and decided to retrace Ryou's steps down the long direction, pulling the white-haired boy along.<p>

After a while, both boys were tired. They rested on a large rock and leaned unto each other. Ryou waved his hand and brought a string of kelp that had died. Heating it, he placed it around the two of them and instantly fell asleep with his head on Marik's shoulder. After a moment, Marik tentatively placed his head on Ryou's and let his eyes fall closed. They dreamed of their parents. Ryou contemplated whether or not his stepfather saved his mother or not. Marik wondered if his mother was missing him, and what she would do when he returned to the castle.

The two boys found comfort in the others' presence. They did not hear the approaching footsteps, nor did they see the shadows loom over them. A high-pitched voice cackled with glee.

"Well Rex, I think we found our new pieces of meat," a man said maliciously. "These two will certainly get the job done!"

"Okay, just grab them and let's get away from here. This place is literally nowhere!" Rex huffed. "Weevil, you might want to paralyze them." Weevil nodded and took out a pouch. Opening it, he released dozens upon dozens of eels.

"Ugh, these guys are so hard to control! Why couldn't we could have some sort of underwater bug?" he protested. Rex rolled his eyes.

"You and your bugs," he grumbled. The eels took immediate notice of the boys sleeping under the large incline, but felt Ryou's power. They reclined a bit, but then continued forward with Weevil's urging. They, however, only lightly shocked the boys' nerve endings so that they wouldn't wake up, but they would be immobile.

"Dammit!" Weevil swore. "Now we have to concentrate on not waking them up!" Rex shrugged, gently picking Ryou up.

"It's fine," he replied nonchalantly. "I don't want to deal with their bitching until later, anyway." The two men carried the boys away from their path; away from their intended destination.

* * *

><p>Téa woke up in a dungeon. Well, it certainly didn't seem like a dungeon with the plush comforter and the warm atmosphere, but Téa felt confined. She started as she realized that the gravity was pulling her down too much to be considered "underwater".<p>

"Ryou!" she cried, suddenly lurching up. "Oh goodness…" She laid a hand on her stomach, feeling relief at the fact that the baby was fine. But she felt that the baby's strength was waning. Téa realized that she hadn't eaten anything, and the baby, therefore, hadn't received any sustenance. The door opened, and a woman with long, purple hair entered.

"Oh, you're awake…" she said quietly. Téa nodded, unable to speak. The woman looked like she'd been through hell and back. Her clothing was rich and fine, but her face was thin and dark circles ringed her eyes. Téa felt her mouth open in question, but the woman interrupted her before she could continue.

"I'm Miho. I'll send for some food," she said quietly. Miho went out the door for a moment and signaled a servant to go out and fetch some food. She returned and walked over to Téa's bed.

"What happened to you?" Téa asked. "I don't know who you are, but you don't look like you've been sleeping or drinking." Miho covered her face for a bit, and Téa thought that she was crying. Miho's back lurched as if she were sobbing, but when she pulled her arm away her face was dry.

"What do you do when you haven't treated your child right ever since he or she was born?" she muttered. "What do you do when you want to fall at their feet and beg for forgiveness? What do you do when it's just too late?"

"What do you mean?" Téa asked as she unconsciously brought a hand up to her abdomen. The servant returned with the food as Miho stared expressionlessly on the floor.

"My son ran away," she said softly. "My daughter and my other son won't tell me a thing, but I think that they honestly know something. They just send me looks of pity whenever I ask. My worry has been escalating, and I…I just want my son back…" Téa frowned, thinking about her own predicament.

"I don't know where my son is, either. I need more water in my system in order to find out," she replied quietly. Miho gave her a conflicted stare.

"I've only just met you, but I feel close to you, as if you're my sister. All the same, I don't know if I can grant your request. I've heard stories about you, Téa Mutou…"

"My name is NOT Téa Mutou," Téa interjected. "I am not married to Yugi anymore, and haven't been for seven years now." Miho's eyes widened.

"What?" she asked with surprise. "But…that's what Yugi's been telling all of us…"

"Yugi was too oblivious to my feelings, as well as focused on forcing me to do tasks I didn't want to do with my powers. We were married once, but I left him and left divorce papers along with my ring," Téa explained, lifting her ring finger to show Miho how there was nothing adorning it. Ocean-people didn't approve of such customs, and instead, Téa had a subtle anklet showing her marriage to Atem…wherever he was…

"You left when you were pregnant," Miho said.

"Yes, but my son…oh, why am I telling you this!" Téa exclaimed. "I hardly even know you!"

"You feel it, too, right? The connection." Téa stared at the woman with skeptical eyes.

"I feel some sort of connection akin to friendship, but I don't know how that could be. Especially since we've just met and we're worrying internally about the condition of our sons."

"Your son?" Miho asked. Before Téa could answer, the servant brought in food and Miho's husband.

"Téa," Tristan said quietly. He then turned to his wife, who rose and hugged him. Téa frowned as she realized Miho's connection with the people of her past.

"Tristan," she said icily. "What do you want?" Tristan closed his eyes for a minute.

"I'm sorry," he said, opening them. "I only came for Miho. I'll leave you to your devices." Miho looked at Tristan incredulously. He was never this rude, not even to people he despised!

"I'm not leaving here," she replied with surprise lacing her voice. "Why don't you two sit down and talk about your issue?" Tristan gave her a glance, but it was enough. Miho ducked her head, feeling shameful. She was interfering in business that wasn't even hers. With a sigh and a last guilty glance at Téa, she walked over to the door and Tristan followed her. When they were outside, Tristan let out a sigh and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Look, Miho, I understand that you're upset that Marik is gone, but don't tangle yourself in more than one conflict," he suggested. Miho nodded slowly, tears springing in her eyes at the thought of her boy, her beautiful little boy, hurt and alone. She let out a small sob and ran away from her husband. Right now, she needed another mother's sympathy. The only other mother, however, was Téa, and she was indirectly forbidden from visiting her. Miho felt a coil of defiance stir in her stomach. Téa was not a bad person. Miho would fight for Téa's freedom.

* * *

><p>"Wake up, you runts!" a harsh voice grated, penetrating Ryou's mind. He snuggled into the warmth beside him, but stiffened as he felt it become rigid.<p>

"What?" he asked faintly, but his eyes shot open when he realized where he was. Beside him, Marik looked stricken at the multitude of eels surrounding the two boys. Straight in front of him, two men were leering and snickering. Ryou huddled closer to Marik, who subconsciously hardened his face.

"What do you want?" Marik shouted. An eel suddenly darted forward and shocked him. Marik shrieked and Ryou shrieked at Marik's pain.

"What are you doing? Stop this at once!" he cried. Marik lay writhing on the floor, as the shock was strong enough to bring him to the ground. Ryou closed his eyes and forced the ground to take the shock. Marik curled up in a fetal position on the ground while Rex and Weevil laughed.

"We need you two to do our dirty work," Rex grinned, turning to his side and gesturing to the area behind him. "You have to lift those metal shards into the submarine." Ryou's eyes wavered with tears as he grasped Marik's hand and stared at the infinite amount of shards that lay skittered here and there. Rex's smirk grew larger when he saw Ryou's shock. "Oh, and you won't be getting any food until you finish. So hop to it!" Ryou whimpered and brought Marik up. Marik clutched his hand in fright and positively ran to the area in question. Upon arriving there, the boys noticed that they weren't the only ones that were to work. Many ocean-boys, most looking like they'd been starving for a week, were working their hardest to finish this near-impossible task. When one died, right in front of them, Ryou screamed and buried his face into Marik's arm. Local piranhas came and devoured the fallen body, making Marik retch in disgust and turn away. He tried to let go of Ryou's hand to hide his face, but Ryou didn't let him.

"No," Ryou whispered. "I'll never let you go. Not in a place like this. Not even for a second." Marik understood because he felt the same way.

"Don't leave me here alone," he whispered, squeezing Ryou's hand. Ryou nodded and squeezed back. They began to bring the metal to a large pile while keeping their hands interlocked. The ghost-children around them seemed to stare at them with contempt. The boys were not working up to their potential and that meant less progress for the others. Ryou didn't care. He kept an iron grip on Marik, who kept him close as well. Weevil and Rex kept snickering to themselves, not bothering to care enough. They relaxed on their chairs and only emerged when they were punishing slackers. Marik and Ryou looked to each other for comfort, but they didn't dare say anything for fear of seeming like "slackers" who didn't get the job done. They exchanged the same question with their eyes: When would they be done?

* * *

><p>Miho looked at the clock with contempt in her eyes. She had determined that she would meet Téa at midnight, when her husband was no doubt at work with his newest radio tower to make up for the one lost. She had to, however, discuss something with Yugi first. The appointment was scheduled at three o'clock, forcing Miho to fidget impatiently for a full half-hour.<p>

Finally, the bell dinged and Miho entered the establishment. Yugi looked up from his desk and nodded at her.

"Ah, Miho, what do you want?" he sighed. Miho looked at him with furrowed brows. He was clearly exhausted, but he had only worked only a few hours this week. The situation with Téa was the only reason that the normally chipper and well-rested Yugi could have this sort of fatigue.

"I came to talk about Téa," Miho replied bluntly, noting the way Yugi cringed at the name. "You can't just hide her away forever!" Yugi looked stricken at her words. Someone who was on Téa's side? What was going on?

"You don't know the entire situation, Miho," he said tiredly. Miho positively snarled.

"You probably know even less! Do you even know that she's pregnant?" she said, slamming her hands on the desk. "You can't just take your anger at the divorce out on an unborn child! Téa needs special foods that cater to her condition! She also needs plenty of water, not only for her powers, but for her _survival_!" Yugi then erupted.

"Who are you to tell me this!" he roared. "I don't care for the child! It is that dastardly water prince's anyway!" Yugi stood up from his chair so quickly that Miho barely registered it. He leaned in, a cynical smirk on his face. "And you can't defend the child anyway. Your own child is missi-"

_**SLAP!**_

Miho huffed, arm raised as she stared at the shocked Yugi. He turned to her with wide eyes and finally realized what he was saying.

"Oh, Miho, I'm sor-"

Miho grew so upset that she slapped Yugi again. This time, the man merely accepted it. He'd been out of line, and tears were streaming down Miho's infuriated face. "Don't act like I don't think about looking for him every second of the day," she hissed. "But then I stop and think about my other babies. Ishizu needs her mother. Odion needs his mother." She choked a sob. "I couldn't die, not when Hank had just died and Tristan was still an unfamiliar stranger." Yugi felt immensely guilty. Tristan had vowed to harm him if he ever hurt Miho in this way, and already he deserved the beating.

"I'm sorry, Miho," he said sincerely. Her troubles were equal to his, if not more harmful. Miho took a shaky gasp and wiped her eyes.

"I'll forgive you only if you confront Téa and free Atem. Promise me," she said. Yugi nodded, still feeling extremely guilty.

"I promise," he vowed. Miho couldn't help but feel uncertain and resentful, even after Yugi went and made his preparations.

* * *

><p>Ryou hugged Marik as the boys leaned against the metal shards for the night. They hadn't made a single dent in the piles and the submarine didn't seem full at all. Exhausted, Marik let his head fall onto Ryou's shoulder. The other boys were pretending to work when, in reality, they were finding burrows for sleeping. Rex and Weevil were surveying with half-closed eyes, not realizing anything out of the ordinary. It was then that the voices rose, the children conversing to each other about what had occurred. Before either of the boys had noticed anything out of the ordinary, they were surrounded by the other ocean-boys.<p>

"So, who are you?" a white-haired ocean-boy called. His friend leered at the two beside him, and Ryou guessed that they were brothers. The first one was white-haired and pale skinned, rather like Ryou himself. The second one, however was tanned. He still maintained the same facial features as his partner.

"I'm Marik and this is Ryou," Marik replied. "What's going on? What is this place?"

"Well, Marik, I'm Bakura and this is Thief," the boy replied, completely disregarding Marik's question. "And you're in our spot." Marik looked around him and scowled.

"What, the other metal piles aren't good enough for you?" he snarled. Bakura frowned.

"No, but there's enough space on this one for my brothers, me, and one other person," he snapped. Bakura's face took on a gentler appearance when he regarded Ryou. "You're accepted. Marik, however, has to go." Marik's brows furrowed, but the other children were clearly on the two partners' side. They glared at the new intruders, already hating them for their meager contribution. Ryou glared back defiantly.

"No. We'll both leave," he said valiantly. He tugged on Marik's hand, and Marik offered the two boys a glare before following Ryou.

The search for a dwelling was a complete failure. Marik and Ryou were walking for ages before they determined that all the metal piles were full. Marik then sighed and turned to Ryou.

"I think that you should go with Bakura and Thief," he murmured. Ryou looked at him incredulously.

"No way!" he said harshly. "I told you that I'm not letting you go!" Marik shook his head with the same harshness.

"You have to. At least one of us will have a bed. Ryou, come on…" Marik pleaded. "Think about it logically!" Ryou clenched his teeth and felt rage overtake him.

"I already lost my mother and my stepfather! I don't want to lose you too!" he shouted. Marik sighed exasperatedly before he proceeded to drag Ryou to Bakura's metal pile. Ryou began screaming at him with rage, trying to pull away. Marik continued on, heedless of the amount of noise Ryou was making. Bakura emerged from the pile and gave the two an angry glare.

"Shut him up!" he hissed. "The supervisors will wake up!"

"He wants to sleep on this pile," Marik said firmly. Ryou had fallen silent, glaring at Marik with death in his eyes. Bakura gave a crooked grin.

"Great! You can leave, I'll take care of him," he cackled, grabbing Ryou's arm. Marik nodded uncertainly, but when his hand left Ryou's, the other only clutched all the harder.

"Ryou?" Marik asked. Ryou's face was shadowed.

"I hadn't wanted to reveal my identity," he began. "But you leave me no choice. I don't want to let you go." The currents around the boys whirled, making Bakura yelp and release Ryou's hand. When Ryou opened his eyes, Marik saw that they were red. Blood red. Ryou directed his eyes at Marik and tugged him harshly. Marik was too surprised to resist and ended up in Ryou's arms. The currents around them took all the metal shards and formed a mass over the ghost-children's heads. Ryou turned to the supervisors, his anger causing the current to knock over their chairs.

"Who? What?" Weevil called out. "Hey! Get back to work!" Ryou let out a feral grin that sent shivers coursing through Marik's body. He buried his face into Ryou's body, scared for his life.

"I think you should shut up," he said calmly, feral snarl still in place. All of a sudden, the metal shards dashed towards the two men at a breakneck pace. The men shouted and ran as fast as they could, but the metal overtook them. Ryou's grin widened just as Marik's eyes did. The ocean was stained red in that area. Ryou then turned to Bakura and Thief, Marik awkwardly turning with him. "So you two want to separate us as well?" he asked with mock sweetness. Bakura and Thief clenched their teeth and stared back. Ryou raised a hand and was about to bring the metal shards back when Marik suddenly clutched his wrist.

"STOP!" he screamed. "Stop it RIGHT NOW!" Ryou felt his anger dissipate with a gasp. He fell limp into Marik's arms. Marik panted and held Ryou tight.

"Marik?" Ryou slurred, completely exhausted. The ghost-children were looking at the two with fright.

"Um…it's all okay now," Marik said, still in shock. "It's alright. Relax." He wasn't sure if he was talking to Ryou or himself. Bakura and Thief exchanged a glance before warily approaching the two.

"What was _that_?" Bakura asked incredulously. The other ghost-children huddled behind them. Marik looked at them with an apologetic smile that was wavering heavily.

"Ryou's special," he croaked. "H-he's trying to find his family." Bakura looked at the boys with confusion.

"We're all trying to find our families. What makes him special?" he said. Marik took a deep breath and steeled himself for the response. If the ghost-children decided to abuse Ryou's secret, he was entirely helpless to stop them. All the same, he needed their help…

"He said something about a castle. And he can control the water. I think…that he's the prince of the ocean," he said quietly. The boys' eyes widened.

"I know where his family's then," Thief said, frowning. "If he's truly Queen Téa and King Atem's son, he has to go above the ocean. They were kidnapped onto land." Marik gaped at this new information.

"I don't know where land is!" he wailed. "Ryou can't even tell since he's an ocean prince!" Bakura snorted.

"Hey, don't worry about it!" he snarled. "We'll help you, okay? Who knows, maybe we'll run into our own families. Right guys?" The ghost-children nodded slowly. Marik whimpered and clutched Ryou tightly. He hoped that he made the right decision.

"Alright, to start it off, we need to use the submarine," Thief announced. "Everyone! All hands on deck!"

"Can't we just get Ryou to float us all up there?" one of the children asked quietly. Bakura gave him a glare.

"Do you want to find your family or not? If we take the easy way out, we won't even have time to see them!" he snorted. The kid bashfully bowed his head. Marik bit his lip and followed the others to the submarine with Ryou in his arms.

* * *

><p>"Téa," Yugi said softly. Téa was asleep, but her hand was still protectively wrapped around her enlarged abdomen. In the sunlight, she looked beautiful. Yugi sighed wearily as if he were a hundred years old. He pulled up a chair and decided to watch her sleep.<p>

He didn't have to wait long. Téa's eyes fluttered open and she regarded Yugi with some confusion before her face turned into a glare.

"What are you doing here?" she snapped. Yugi recoiled, but felt another piece of anger piercing his heart.

"Why did you leave?" he countered. Téa turned away and ran a hand through her hair.

"It's too early for this," she grumbled. Yugi clenched his fists and glared at her.

"You're running away from our problem. Fine, I'll answer your question first. I'm here to get some answers and find out how you're doing," he said, trying to remember that she was pregnant and that he wasn't going to antagonize her into a stressful fit. Téa looked at him with surprise, acknowledging his efforts. With a groan, she turned to lay on her back, then proceeded to sit up. Yugi immediately helped her, to which she replied with a confused but sincere "thank you."

"I left because…you were being controlling," she confessed. "It wasn't something that happened suddenly, either. I tried to tell you so many times that you were stifling the natural Earth with your buildings and your quest for oil. Honestly, I thing that Tristan appreciates the land more, and he's a machine-lover!" Téa snapped. She calmed herself and looked at Yugi with tears in her eyes. "Eventually, I couldn't even find the man I'd fallen in love with. I tried to search for him, I even…got pregnant because I wanted him to see the beauty of nature…but you…"

"Téa…" Yugi choked.

"You weren't even there! You smiled at the news, but I had to rely on Tristan and our servants to cater to my needs! My cravings, my maternity wear, my mood swings…you weren't even there! Then I knew that I couldn't love you, not even if you tried to make it up to me. I knew that this was the real you, and you didn't have time for me or the child.

"So I left before things could get any worse and I actually birthed the child. I left before Ryou got used to you and saw you as the father that was never there. Luckily, when I went to my underwater kingdom, I found the King of the Sea and forged an alliance with him. That alliance turned to love…" Yugi closed his eyes, not wanting to hear anymore. Téa understood and kept silent, maintaining a glare. Yugi opened his eyes.

"I never stopped loving you," he choked. "I thought you would stay by my side, not run off because of my personality."

"I felt cheated, Yugi!" she shouted. "You were so nice and happy, but after we got married you were cold and distant! You were so wrapped up in your plans that you didn't spend any time with me or the unborn Ryou!"

"I didn't know that you wanted attention!" Yugi retorted.

"I only said it about a hundred times!" Téa cried, tears streaming down her face. "'Yugi, could you help me with this?' 'Yugi, will you take me to the ocean?' Honestly, I was worried that you were deaf at one point!" Yugi slumped, realizing that this was the truth. Téa covered her face with her hands. "The fight…that was a long time coming." Yugi remembered. The fight…where he had slapped Téa for yelling at him. "Did you honestly think that I would come back for you when you had the gall to slap a pregnant woman? How could you, Yugi? Why were you so bent on ruining my life?" Yugi covered his eyes and looked away. She was right. Completely and utterly right.

"I'm sorry," he choked, guilt overtaking him. "You're right…I can't control it!" Téa looked away in disgust.

"I want Atem," she said coldly. Yugi, riddled with guilt, nodded and stood. He made his way, slowly, to the door. It was a mistake to think that they'd ever be reunited. Despondently, he pressed a button. Suddenly, a cage fell on Téa. She screamed.

"You won't be able to escape," Yugi moaned. "I can't lose you again." Téa looked at him with wide eyes as she gripped the iron bars.

"You can't do this!" she howled. "I'm not some sort of animal!" Yugi gave her a crazed smile.

"That has a nice ring to it! My pet," he stuttered before laughing maniacally. Téa's hands slid from the bars. Yugi has gone mad, she thought. All the stress he's been cultivating finally came back to haunt him.

* * *

><p>The boys were floating leisurely on the submarine when Ryou suddenly woke up, screaming. The tectonic plates were moving in a way that was simply not natural.<p>

"We have to go!" he screeched, grasping Marik's hand and trying to make his way off the bed. Bakura looked at him in shock.

"Go where? What's going on?" he shouted. Marik merely followed Ryou, knowing that there was something dire going on.

"I know you guys want to find your parents," Marik began. "But if Ryou says that there's something wrong, there must be something seriously wrong! I promise that we'll help you find your parents, but for now we have to go!" The ghost-children looked to Bakura and Thief, but the two men only stared. "Trust me! We'll get to your parents after we save the world!"

"Save the…world?" Thief said numbly. "Bakura, I think we should let them go through with this." Bakura scoffed.

"Fine. I agree. But only because you saved our lives by throwing those metal shards at our oppressors!" he called as Marik and Ryou dashed towards the submarine control panel. There, some ghost-children were trying their hardest to find out how to make the contraption faster.

"We have to hurry!" Ryou cried. "The tectonic plates…! They're moving faster than ever!" Marik realized that Ryou could only be talking about Yugi, since he was the only person who could control the tectonic plates. Marik looked around wildly, only to realize something interesting.

"Hey! I recognize this equipment!" he cheered. "We don't have to be on autopilot! Everyone, move out of the way! We're about to go very, very fast!" With a crank of a few levers and a push of a few buttons, the submarine began to rocket through the ocean. Ryou gaped at Marik with surprise as the destination came closer and closer.

"How did you-"

"My stepdad has the power to work with man-made materials. He and I often worked on water pipes and engines and the like. This is no biggie...I can't believe I didn't bother to check on it before!" he said triumphantly, managing to go to several different stations at once and still allowing for progress. The ghost-children watched, impressed, as Marik managed to hold his own. "Tell me where to go, Ryou! You know where the tectonic plates are shifting, yes?" Ryou grinned at him and squeezed his hand, proceeding to direct him around every bend the ocean gave. Soon enough, the land in question was in sight.

"Um, shouldn't we be braking?" Bakura asked, alarmed. Marik laughed.

"Braking? I don't know the word!" he chuckled. "Besides, I think it's fun to make a grand entrance, don't you? Ryou, make a spell that allows the ocean-boys to breath out of water!" Ryou nodded and proceeded to recite the spell. With a sudden lurch of his hands, the submarine rocketed out of the sea and into the sky. All the boys within screamed as it began to speed towards the ground, but Marik managed to pull a few levers and cause an inflatable cushion to emerge from the bottom. He cranked a few more levers and managed to make the submarine bounce amongst the terror of the earthquake, a determined look on his face. "Get ready, you guys! We're about to invade the castle!"

"Oh, we're ready!" Thief cried, exhilarated. "Whoo!" The ghost-children looked less like ghosts and more like ocean-boys. With a few turbulent thumps, Marik had the entire crew screaming in excitement.

They crashed into Yugi's castle in what was the most interesting display that the world had ever seen. As rubble flew this way and that, the children managed to emerge from the ride exhilarated and refreshed. Most were babbling about the excitement, but Bakura, Marik, Thief, and Ryou stepped into the room where the shocked servants were blankly watching the submarine that slowly deflated onto the grounds of the castle.

"We need to see Uncle Yugi please!" Marik announced as loud as his seven-year-old lungs allowed. The servants instantly recognized him.

"Marik!" Espa Roba shouted. "Thank goodness you're alright! Mako and I were so worried!"

"I _need_ to see Uncle Yugi, and fast!" Marik insisted. "We'll go over everything later, I promise!" Espa Roba noted the urgency in Marik's voice; an urgency that was characteristic of a ruler like his stepfather. He nodded happily.

"Dually noted, Master Marik!" he chirped. Marik grinned, liking the sound of that. "Follow me!" The group followed the servant around the winding castle. Marik seemed to know where he was going, so Ryou kept his hand tightly wrapped around his. Along the way, Ishizu and Odion almost suffocated Marik with their hugs. Marik noted with distaste that their clothing was worn, and their faces were devoid of rest.

"What's going on around here?" he asked angrily. Ishizu sighed.

"Uncle Yugi has gone completely insane. He's shifting tectonic plates and forcing us to starve. He's uprooted so much farmland that there's no more food to eat. Our kingdom, no, the Earth is in turmoil," she explained. Marik nodded slowly.

"We'll stop him. I promise!" he said firmly. Ishizu and Odion smiled.

"You've grown, Marik," Odion said warmly. "You're far more mature now."

"Hey, I resent that!" Marik joked right back. Ryou decided to speak up.

"Um, I'm wondering…have either of you seen Queen Téa about?" he asked quietly. Ishizu and Odion looked at him with surprise.

"Uncle Yugi's in her room, interrogating her. She's the reason he's so mad," Ishizu said. Ryou's face flushed.

"She's my mother! Your stupid uncle stole her!" he shouted. Marik squeezed his hand.

"Relax, Ryou! Ishizu was only telling us the truth!" he said. Ryou took a moment to reconsider Ishizu's words, noting that she hadn't meant any harm by them. He guiltily nodded. Ishizu gave a small smile.

"Don't worry, Ryou was it? We aren't that well-acquainted with our uncle, either. Our mother gave us the information. Your mother has gone through a lot, hasn't she?" Ishizu said. She suddenly snapped her fingers. "Why don't you come with me to free your stepfather? You have the power to heal him; he's awfully dehydrated." Ryou looked at her, torn. He pulled on Marik's hand, knowing that it was futile. Marik gave him a sad smile, but didn't budge.

"Go, Ryou. This time, the cause is worth it," he said. Ryou bit his lip, but nodded. With a sigh, he let go of Marik's hand and turned to follow Ishizu. Tears fell from his eyes, making Ishizu wonder exactly how much the boy cared for her brother. Suddenly, Ryou turned around and hugged Marik around the middle.

"Don't you dare get yourself killed!" he yelled. Marik nodded into Ryou's hair and wrapped his arms around him.

"I promise," he said. "Now go and rescue your stepdad!" Ryou nodded and reluctantly departed, taking one last glance at Marik before he rounded the corner. Marik stared at him wistfully before shaking himself out of it and focusing on the task at hand. "Alright you guys! Time to kick butt!" The ocean-boys, still under Ryou's safety spell, cheered. The entire band rushed into the hallway and Espa Roba led them to where they needed to go. Once they reached the ornate doors, Marik picked the lock and the boys piled inside.

The situation they entered was tense. Téa was glaring daggers at her former husband through her cage, but standing her ground even through her stress. Yugi, in turn, was tapping a gun and smiling gently, as if he didn't want to use the gun but wasn't opposed to shooting if the time came. Miho and Tristan were right in the middle of the fight, trying to ameliorate the situation by having Téa relax and Yugi restrained.

"MARIK!" Miho gasped.. Yugi cackled, turning the gun to Marik's face. Marik's eyes widened as the gun was about to shoot when suddenly it flew out of Yugi's grasp and clattered out the window.

"I control technology, Yugi," Tristan hissed. "Or don't you remember in your self-loving brain?" Yugi growled and caused another earthquake to occur right below the castle. A slew of screams sounded, but just as suddenly as it happened, it was gone. Marik recognized the power. It was now familiar to him, the way Ryou controlled the elements…

"What? What's going on?" Yugi hissed. Téa's eyes dawned with understanding.

"Ryou…" she whispered.

"What?" Miho gasped. "Your son did _that_?"

"He's Yugi's son also. He must've inherited both of our powers!" she gasped. Yugi growled and looked around wildly. Grinning, he picked up a sharp piece of rock; a piece of rubble as the aftermath of the earthquake. Nearing Marik, he raised his weapon.

"HELL NO!" Miho yelled. She ran from her place in front of Téa's cage and punched Yugi in the stomach, then proceeded to knee him and give him a black eye. "_Never_ hurt my son, nor any of my children!" she screamed. Yugi moaned in pain, but got up shakily. He glared at Miho with death in his eyes and started an earthquake that was too large to be overcome. Marik cried out as Miho threw her arms over him protectively. The earthquake raged for only a few seconds before the other boys charged and tackled Yugi, sufficiently distracting him and allowing Ryou to take over once more. The tectonic plates became still.

"Make him stop!" Téa moaned, clutching her stomach.

"Téa? What's wrong?" Tristan cried. Miho looked over in concern.

"These constant shifts…they cause tsunamis as well! As we speak, I'm trying to prevent any tsunamis from surfacing…" Téa explained with a groan. Her waves of distress echoed through the chambers. Marik could sense Ryou's power responding, and suddenly Ryou was on the move, rushing through the halls just to get to Téa. The door burst open, and Ryou came in with Atem in tow.

"Téa!" Atem cried. "Are you alright?" In truth, Téa looked much better than Atem did. Until Ryou was able to rescue him, the ocean-man was sapped of all life and as pale as a ghost. Ryou managed to force some water into him and give him some semblance of life using the same spell he used to allow the ocean-boys to breathe. Atem rushed toward Téa and grasped the bars. Yugi saw this, and in the span of a few minutes he had grown so enraged that he threw all the ocean-boys off of him. He clenched his fists and brought them to eye-level. With a roar, he brought them down and caused the entire world to shake.

Téa and Ryou screamed in unison. The earthquake stimulated both of their senses, especially Ryou as he was gifted with the power of earth and water. He suddenly ducked his head. A maniacal smile found its way to his face and he let go of his stepfather's hand.

"You're an idiot, you know," he said quietly. Somehow, his voice seemed to echo around the entire building, despite the earthquake. "You have no idea who you're messing with!" Suddenly, the shaking stopped and the water stilled. Téa looked, wide eyed, at her son. He was staring at Yugi with a large grin, as if he were about to laugh. "You think that land and technology will allow you to conquer? Well, how about we take away what you deem so _unimportant_?" With a flick of his wrist, Ryou took away all the oxygen around Yugi and combined them with carbon. Yugi didn't feel any different with all the carbon dioxide around him, but he realized that he couldn't control the land as he had previously. He stared at Ryou, realizing that there was something different about the child. Ryou narrowed his eyes and his grin transformed into a smug smile. Yugi realized that he was having trouble breathing. What was going on?

"Ryou, stop this!" Téa shouted. Ryou paid her no heed. His smile grew wider as Yugi began to turn blue.

"Not so strong anymore, eh? Contrary to popular belief, humans don't require oxygen so much as they require the loss of carbon dioxide. Too much carbon dioxide can kill you. You need oxygen gas," he said happily. "Too bad you don't appreciate it enough to have it!" Yugi cried out, hyperventilating. Now Miho and Tristan were trying to get Ryou to stop. The ocean-boys looked on fearfully, not knowing what to do.

It was then that Marik freed himself from his mother's arms and dashed toward Ryou. Miho shouted at him but he lunged away from her, reaching his arm out and grasping Ryou's hand. Ryou's eyes widened and his smile dropped. Yugi gulped in deep mouthfuls of air as the carbon dioxide slowly exited the atmosphere. He fell to his knees weakly, not having any more energy to spare. Ryou slumped in Marik's arms, clutching his hand tightly. Marik hugged Ryou to him.

"It's alright. Everything's fine now," he comforted. Ryou smiled at him and slowly closed his eyes, falling asleep.

* * *

><p>When Yugi was sent to jail, the entire kingdom celebrated. The loss of their leader was a small price compared to the loss of their homeland. When faced with the decision of who would replace Yugi, Tristan and Miho immediately jumped to the position. They vowed that they would do everything in their power to right all of Yugi's wrongs. Apparently, Yugi had spent all his time and energy on construction when his kingdom was already flourishing. He'd taken down all the natural plants and reservoirs in order to build stone arches and highways that the citizens claimed they never used. Tristan had helped, of course, but Yugi had withheld the fact that the citizens were unhappy. Now, Tristan determined, he was bent on using his powers to tear down what he'd helped create.<p>

Téa and Atem resumed ruling the underwater kingdom. Ryou had erected a new castle for them to live in, and Téa eventually gave birth to a healthy baby girl who looked a lot like Ryou. The fact that Atem looked a lot like Yugi probably had something to do with the genetic alteration…

Yugi, the man in question, was devoid of powers. He had his strength sapped by Ryou during the encounter, leaving Ryou as the strongest magic wielder alive. Yugi remained in the dungeon until the end of his days, but he had the guards and card games for company.

As for Ryou and Marik, life didn't bode so well. They had exchanged tearful goodbyes as Ryou went undersea and Marik stayed on land. Ryou promised that he would visit as soon as all the ocean-boys found their homes. Marik held him to that, but it wasn't until ten years later that he would see him again.

* * *

><p>Marik was tinkering with a toy he'd made for his two-year-old niece. The girl was laughing and clapping her hands as the small duck waddled around comically. Her father, Odion, spared her a glance before smiling and resuming his role as the kingdom's secretary. Marik sighed. He was seventeen, a prime age for marriage arrangement. After figuring out that he liked men, Marik had determined that he would follow in his sister's footsteps and never marry. Well, that was the case until Ishizu surprised everyone and announced she was dating the ridiculously successful Seto Kaiba, who ruled the neighboring kingdom. Miho, delighted at her daughter's hidden ability to love (she didn't care as much as others did at the fact that Ishizu was in love with SETO FREAKING KAIBA, she just cared about the fact that more grandchildren were in her midst) spent a lot of time bonding with Ishizu over her romantic life and, in turn, realizing how much of a genius her daughter was. Odion already stated that he didn't wish to be the heir of the throne, so Ishizu became the heiress. At Ishizu's request, however, Kaiba did not know this. Ishizu wanted to surprise him later, <em>if<em> they ever got married…

Marik had been surprised when he'd announced to Miho that he wasn't getting married and Miho simply hadn't cared. He knew that something was up his mother's sleeve, but Miho only smiled secretly whenever he asked her about it.

It wasn't until June that Marik realized what his mother had been planning all along. To be fair, she'd kept up contact with Téa and both had plotted to their hearts' content. It was their doing that had Marik walking in the beach one day, and it was their doing that forced him to encounter a lone, white-haired man who was playing with the waves.

"Oi!" Marik called irritably. "What are you doing? The beach is closed until we can tear down the stupid bridge!" Even now, Yugi's work hadn't been completely eradicated. Still, the boy paid no mind to Marik's irritability and instead smiled at him.

"Don't you remember me?" he laughed. Marik scowled.

"No, and I don't want to. Why don't you go play with the water somewhere else?" he retorted. The man's face creased into a frown.

"You really don't remember me? I'm your betrothed!" he exclaimed. "We've been through so much together!" Marik rolled his eyes. Who was this kid anyway?

"You're way too young for me," he sighed. "Besides, I don't want to get married. Ever thought of that?" The man pouted, _pouted_, before striding forward, grabbing Marik's hand, and kissing his mouth. Marik spluttered, but before he could do anything more, the man pulled him into the water.

"As a matter of fact, I'm older than you by three months," the man said pleasantly as Marik choked and coughed, tearing his hands away to put them around his throat. Once Marik figured out that he could, indeed, breathe underwater, his eyes widened in recognition.

"_Ryou_?" he exclaimed. "No fucking _way_!" Ryou grinned handsomely.

"Yes 'fucking' way. Did your mother not tell you that we're going to be married?" he teased. Marik flushed and shook his head. "Oh. That's surprising." Marik laughed at Ryou's bewildered expression and hugged him.

"It's been so long! How've you been?" he asked excitedly. Ryou rolled his eyes.

"Why don't I tell you _after_ we go to our parents and say that we agree on the spouse?" he replied. Marik flushed further. He hadn't wanted to admit it, but he really couldn't have chosen a better husband. It embarrassed him, when he was in his early teens, to know that he wasn't just attracted to men, he was attracted to white-haired, doe-eyed, ocean-controlling men. With an ecstatic nod, Marik grabbed Ryou's hand the way he used to hold it. Ryou sighed happily and closed his eyes. "You don't know how much I missed that," he said.


	15. Overarching

**(A/N):/** Hmm...I don't know how I feel about this one. I'm kind of like...it's OKAY, but not what I was going for. There's certainly some drama up ahead.

Hehe, and yes, Marik's a cute little munchkin in this one. If not an obnoxious one.

* * *

><p>Overarching<p>

_**Yami Marik**_

My life had been a hard one. When I'd first started living this life, I'd been a happy child capable of doing good and making beautiful things. Among those things were laughter, smiles, and happiness in general. I would walk the streets and consider myself extremely fortunate to be in a world that supported me; an environment that catered to my needs and accepted the gifts I had to offer.

My life took a rapid turn the night my father and mother died. No longer was I a part of the town as a carefree lad, but a dastardly orphan accused of killing his own parents. I'd pleaded with the officials, but it was no use. I was ostracized from the town to the point where I had to pack up and leave for my happiness. It was then that my name was changed and it became associated with darkness. I lost my purity with the false accusation, and I strived to survive without it. It was as if I was devoid of the comforting womb of the town and forced to endure the world. Where my mother used to paint me beautiful, ethereal pictures, there was endless sand that slashed at my feet and brought my daydreams to an end. Where my father used to tell me wondrous stories about spirits and their existence, I met skeletons and harsh reality. It was no surprise that I became merely a shell of my former self, and whenever someone asked me my name, I linked it with darkness. The Japanese form of darkness suited me perfectly, especially since no one around me would truly understand where it had originated and therefore be unknowing of how black my soul really was.

Yami Marik.

* * *

><p>I woke up today with sand in my mouth and eyes. I looked at the desert around me and scrounged for my trusty knife. I'd fallen asleep while hunting again. The worst part of this was the fact that sand got into my hair every time. I wondered why I kept to the desert like this when I much preferred weather such as rain and snow. We'd had all sorts of weather in my old town, but I'd moved southwest into the desert after I had become a social outcast. I was a nomad steadily heading toward the Mediterranean. Occasionally, visitors would pass me and give me food when I grinned at them and revealed that I could speak properly. They asked where I was going. I said the Mediterranean and they'd raise their eyebrows.<p>

"That's a long ways away."

"I can manage it, but I appreciate your concern."

"Here. I don't have much on me but some water will definitely aid you on your quest."

"Much obliged. Good luck on your journey as well, wherever you're traveling." I believed that the people who heard those words believed them to be an omen, a sort of spell that ensured magic and mystery. I was just a nomad, but all those legends and stories that they were told portrayed me as a karma-cavern, one who would return your good deeds in some way shape or form. I sincerely believed in karma, but I didn't think it was as easy as giving a nomad food and drink. It was much more intricate, like a tapestry that needed to be woven with a certain fiber in order for it to form the correct design. I moved on.

When a young man appeared in my peripheral vision, I abruptly turned around and stared. He was unlike any of the people I'd seen, but he was also the first person I'd seen in three months of traveling. He approached me with a bundle in his arms, his calculating gaze unnerving me and causing me to take a step back.

"Who are you?" I asked, my cape flowing behind me. I'd hoped that my appearance would intimidate him, but I was sorely disappointed. The man was wearing a turban that made him almost my height. The fact that my hair stood taller than his turban ensured my height over his, but had our heads been bare, he would've loomed over me.

"You are the one called 'Yami Marik,' aren't you?" he answered with a smirk, completely evading my question. "I have a gift for you."

"No thanks," I replied sourly. I was running low on my supply of water, but this man was far too suspicious. If I trusted him, he would pull a knife on me when I got too close. To my surprise, he shrugged.

"Very well," he laughed simply, grabbing the bundle in his arms and tossing it into the air carelessly. I heard a cry and my eyes flew open in shock.

"Waaah!" the bundle sounded. It was a baby! I quickly flew forward and caught it before it hit the ground.

"What the hell were you-" I began, only to see that the mysterious man had disappeared. I was left with a wailing bundle in my arms. Growling, I turned towards it and uncovered its face.

It was my own. The tan skin and the blond hair combination was definitely mine. The child opened its eyes and I saw that they were purple, another rare shade. Gritting my teeth, I looked around for the man. What was this? What was I meant to do with the child? As if in answer, the wind swirled around me and carried the man's voice.

"You may treat him as you have been treated, or see how he grows with the love and affection you lost. He does not have a family, just as you do not have one now. You mold him as you wish…" The voice faded away, and I felt a twinge of terror. The baby was all alone and I was the only one there for him. With a trembling sigh, I attempted to soothe him by rubbing his back in calming circles. At first he struggled, but gradually the boy calmed and merely gave hiccupped sobs. I didn't think I comforted him, but it was enough. The baby seemed old enough to drink water and mashed foods, but not much else. I hoped that I was near the Mediterranean, because I knew that my inadvertent "son" would not last a nomadic life.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Yami Bakura<strong>_

When I ran away from home, my mother had sent out a search party. My father had tried to spare the family's reputation by accusing a local kidnapper, albeit stupidly since the reputed kidnapper only took middle-class children. I was too focused on leaving that I didn't bother to tell my parents that it was their faults in the first place. _They_ put me through dozens of lectures and athletic sports in order to make me a superhuman. _They_ made my schedule so that I wouldn't have time to myself. What sort of child only sleeps five hours a day? I was so stifled that I could hardly contain myself. Every time my parents expressed their disappointment with my lack of success, I'd wanted to scream. My hair had turned white from the pressure and it was irreversible.

My action had a long time coming. I set up my wares, collected my money, and made plans with the greedy beggars that happened to have transportation services. I would become what my parents didn't want me to become. As my first act, I grew out my hair and tattooed a peculiar ring in the middle of my chest. I was no longer the Ryou Bakura that everyone associated with gentleness and kindness. I was now a man of darkness, corrupted by the compressive forces of my parents' wishes.

I would see my name plastered onto every sheet of newspaper. I would only feel guilt when I saw Amane's crying face, but all the same I knew that my parents were trying to bring me home with that guilt. My sister's happiness was not worth my own. If she wanted to be happy, she could grow up and run away as well. Her hair was starting to turn white already. She may come to realize that her brother was there no longer, taken in with the darkness of anger and hatred. I decided to change my name using the Japanese word for darkness, since it held the right amount of symbolism.

Yami Bakura.

* * *

><p>I made my way to France with ease, but when I was robbed on the train over I began to see that there was no possible way for me to make my way to the Mediterranean without stealing. I became the lowest of the low at a young age, slowly making my way up the food chain via pickpocketing and "favors" made by people who needed to take someone out. Prostitution raged in the streets, but the men and women never caught my eye. They were worthless, people who couldn't bother to steal. Oh well, it made my job easier. There were only a handful of competitors in the streets of France, and I managed to trump them all by stealing far more valuable items just for the fun of it.<p>

Eventually, I reached the Mediterranean and frowned at the dank, fishy smell. I had ended up in a port, white hair dyed black to avoid suspicion and tied in a tight braid. What was I supposed to do here? I was unsure of where I wanted to go next.

With a sigh, I determined that I would take a boat and sail across the sea. Whatever I was searching for wasn't here and I wouldn't stop my journey due to this hindrance. I created a distraction involving a certain explosion of furs that the entire crew was sent to clean up. While they did so, I entered the ship, lifted the anchor, and knocked the captain out before stealing one of the life boats and a couple of oars. A person can swim across the English Channel. I could go across the entire Mediterranean by boat with ease.

My journey continued as I got used to my sea legs and flawlessly worked the oars. I'd sailed when I was back in England as a sport my mother had encouraged. By encouragement, I meant that she enrolled me and told me to get ready for practice without any prior notification. With a scowl on my face, I worked the oars harder. My prowess in this field was less than satisfactory, but I was relieved that I was making some sort of headway, at least. Glancing at my compass, I made sure I was headed south. This compass was one of the more beautiful pieces I'd stolen, inlaid with gold and encrusted with diamonds. I'd placed it on a chain so that someone would have to slice open my heart in order to receive their prize. So far, none have gained the honor.

One morning, when I'd been eating what little remained of my dried meat, I noticed a fisherman fishing on the sea. With a frown I approached. He was directly in my way as my compass pointed straight south. Turning to me, he smiled and raised a hand in greeting. I analyzed him critically, but to my surprise, he analyzed me in much the same way. He was wearing a turban on his head and by his side lay a bundle that seemed to be…breathing. I narrowed my eyes in suspicion, but decided to make my way around. Before I could, however, the man pulled out an oar and blocked my progress.

"Well, well," he said suavely. "The thief looking for purpose has run into my boat. You've done many 'favors,' haven't you?" I raised my eyebrows in surprise, then gave an oily grin.

"So you've heard of my services," I chuckled. "I don't think that I can do much when I'm at sea, though." The man smiled again and gestured to the bundle beside him.

"I have here a charge for you," he said. "I need you to take care of him. That is my favor." I raised my eyebrow and scoffed.

"You think me a babysitter? I'll just be on my way," I laughed, pushing his oar out of the way and rowing. He only smiled simply.

"Fine. Then I have no choice," he replied. I turned to him, curious, but felt my heart lurch when he picked up the baby and threw it out into the sea. With a shout I tumbled off my boat and rescued it from the sea before it could drown.

"What the hell?" I screamed at him, but he was gone. I looked around wildly, but eventually I had to cater to the cries of the child in my arms. Making my way to the boat, I grumbled as I tried to rock the baby. I knew that if I wanted it to survive, I would need to get to the other side of the land immediately. Undoing the wet trappings, I stared at the baby with shock.

It held my face, and with that I knew that there was no way that baby could get into another person's hands.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Yami Marik<strong>_

When we reached the Mediterranean, I immediately struck a deal with some fishermen. I would help them fish, and in exchange, they would let my son and me stay in a hotel. One of the fishermen had a wife who fussed over my son, feeding him crushed fruits and vegetables. I trusted her with his care as I went out to fish everyday, but I knew that I couldn't stay with this life forever. I wanted a place of my own with a farm of my own and an ability to self-cultivate.

Eventually, I saved enough money and procured some seeds. I obtained some land some distance away from the port and the town with rich soil and a sizeable area, determined to make my way in the world. Marik, as I'd self-dubbed him, was still a baby when we moved in and didn't seem to mind the fact that he was leaving his "nanny." As far as I was concerned, he could visit her whenever he needed company.

Marik grew into the boy I'd never thought I'd turn out to be. He wasn't a product of darkness, even at twelve years old. I marveled at how upbeat and light he was, always trying to impress me with a new recipe or task. Marik never commented on the fact that we looked alike, but he also didn't accept me as his father. He took on the role of my servant all on his own, but I understood that the obligation of being my son would undeniably limit him in terms of becoming like me. I wanted him to be free, but also nurtured. If he believed that being my son severely limited him, then he wouldn't be my son.

He was a heartbreaker. Whenever he would befriend the town girls, he would make sure to tell them that he wasn't interested in them as future brides. The only girl he'd ever truly befriended was a kind soul named Téa Gardner, who'd already had a crush on another boy and was only interested in Marik as a friend. Still, I noticed more and more that Marik was exhibiting signs of attraction for men. He and Téa even got into a spat when he claimed that her crush was "not attractive."

"Marik," I called from the dining room. He popped his head through the doorway and gave me a smile.

"What is it, Yami?" he asked cheerfully.

"You are attracted to men," I replied. It wasn't a question. There was silence as he registered the information with a stricken look in his eyes. I watched with slight amusement as Marik gaped at me like a fish.

"Yami…no, I…b-but…" he stuttered. After a minute of this ridiculousness, he eventually wailed, "HOW DID YOU KNOOOOW?" I smiled, glad that he accepted my theory, and brought him to my lap.

"Relax, Marik," I said. "I'm your master, so of course I know everything. And it's nothing to be ashamed about; after all, you're not the only one." He gave me a look of surprise, comprehending what I meant immediately. I saw his features sag in relief before he gave me another boyish smile. I smiled back, but inside I was a mix of emotions. This was another one of the characteristics that had me rejected from my home village. I didn't want the same for Marik, for if he stopped smiling like that I knew that any smile I had for the world would fade as well.

When Téa came over one day with her new boyfriend and two of their other friends, Marik announced that I knew he was gay. The small party of friends cheered and Marik beamed the brightest smile I'd ever seen. I learned that his friends had known about his preference, but he'd been in denial for fear that I would reject him. I understood that feeling. I'd discovered my preferences when I was twelve as well, but I hadn't confessed until I was fourteen. I'd left when I was fifteen. Now I was twelve years older and happy that I didn't have to deal with the vile villagers anymore.

Marik was content. That was all that mattered to me.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Yami Bakura<strong>_

When we reached the other side of the Mediterranean, I decided to settle down and raise Ryou without any outside interference. The only isolated lifestyle that came forth was farming, where I could have food and water with little care about others. At first, I had to steal the fruits constantly to feed Ryou and harvest the seeds. I didn't know a thing about farming, so I had to drop in and listen to people often, leaving Ryou at home in a makeshift crib. This method didn't last for long once I heard people speaking about a child crying from afar. I only left when he was asleep afterwards, and even then I stole quickly.

Ryou grew up doing well at whatever task he was assigned. I treated him as I would my servant and he took on the role almost too well. I left him plenty of time for leisure activities, but one day, when he was eight years old, he approached me and firmly stated that he wanted to go to school. I was shocked, but accommodated him. After all, I was never given a choice in life and I didn't want Ryou to grow up with no free will, either.

It was hard to grow the food at first, but eventually I somewhat got the hang of it and slowly cultivated as much food as I could. I still depended heavily on stealing, however, as the food that I cultivated only lasted us about three months at best. I was never caught, and the farmers around me remained dubious. Ryou gave me a disapproving glare whenever I'd return home with my prizes, but he never said anything. He grew up with a strong moral conscience borne from the need to please his fellow classmates. Though he didn't approve of my stealing habits, he and I got along rather well. We often held formal discussions where he would announce how his day went and comment on how his classmates were in terms of their personalities. I didn't find this interesting, but I listened because he listened to my adventures of the day as well.

I learned that he had a preference for the male gender when he stiffly stood in the doorway of my room and said it. We'd stared for a couple of minutes until he turned away and walked into the living room. I remained in my room and stared at the doorway he'd vacated. What did this spell for me? After all, he was my clone in every respect…

I'd followed him and sat him down, where I told him that it didn't really matter. I told him that I didn't have any preference, and I was glad that he actually had a chance at happiness. After all that, he was happy. It was the only time that we actually shared a hug, though it was entirely one-sided. Ryou was content, and that was fine enough for me.

"Yami, why are you always sitting there? I think you should find some friends, like mine!" Ryou said one day. I ignored him, but he was insistent. "Yami, I'm serious. You're never going to find out anything if you don't make friends!"

"I don't need friends the way you do, Ryou," I snorted. "Would you just go and leave me be?"

"Fine. But this issue will be coming up again," he promised. I rolled my eyes and went back to tending the wilted garden. Ryou cared for me, but his care was entirely unwarranted. I understood that I somewhat represented his caretaker, but this was too much to the point where he'd do my laundry and my cooking just for my pleasure. This is the way we'd lived for the longest time, and I decided that it was time for a change. Unfortunately, I had no idea how to instigate this change.

I decided to take Ryou's advice one day as I headed to the market with dyed hair and light clothes that prevented anyone from suspecting me. It was there that I saw the person who would permanently halt my course and cause me to rethink…everything.

He was tanned with blond hair. That caught me off-guard, but the strange way it defied gravity intrigued me further. He wore a cape that made him more intimidating than normal, and around his eyes there were streaks of kohl placed as if he wanted it carelessly symmetric. I walked up to him without really realizing it, and once I reached him I merely stood and found myself out of words. The man raised a blond eyebrow at me and then narrowed his eyes.

"What's your business, thief?" he murmured. I felt my eyes widen and I clenched my teeth.

"I don't believe we met," I replied coolly. "Why do you think I'm a thief?" He laughed then, and though it was a cruel laugh I found myself wanting to hear it again. Unfortunately, he waved me off.

"I always know when you steal my things," he chuckled. "I just find you sad and pathetic, so I let you have them." I furrowed my brows and clenched my teeth. What was with this bastard?

"I can stop being so meticulous," I seethed. "Next time, I'll just take as much as I want and leave." The man was rolling his eyes as he picked up some fish.

"Suit yourself," he replied. "It'll be less pathetic to watch." I felt my cheeks burn as I swiftly headed outside and back to my house. Of course, I took a bunch of twists and turns so that I wasn't followed. When I got home, Ryou was pacing worriedly. He cried out when he saw me.

"Where've you _been_?" he screeched. "I was waiting for the longest time! You never steal in broad daylight!" I snarled at him and went to my couch to sleep. My pride was torn open, so I didn't feel like talking. With a growl, Ryou grabbed my shoulders and stared into my face. "You really worried me, Yami! Tell me where you've been!" I growled and shoved him off of me.

"I went to town, alright?" I replied angrily. "I took your advice. I'm never doing that again." Ryou looked surprised for a moment, then overjoyed.

"You…you went outside at your leisure?" he cried excitedly. "What happened? Why are you sad?" I rolled my eyes at his interest, a faint blush on my cheeks.

"I met this idiotic man with a cape and kohl on his eyes, as if he was a woman," I huffed. "He was extremely egotistical and flaunted his muscles as if he were compensating for something. Such an imbecile."

"You like him," Ryou suddenly chirped excitedly. My eyes shot open and I snarled at him.

"What the fuck does _that_ mean?" I hissed. "He hates me and irritates me to no end and for some reason I end up falling in love with him?"

"Of course not," Ryou snapped, "But would it kill you to have someone else in your life?" Suddenly I understood. Ryou was stressed. Not only was I a thief and a menace to the society where he grew up, but I was also someone who didn't want to associate with others. No one was closer to me than Ryou, and that wasn't saying much. Ryou probably just wanted me to have a friend so that he wouldn't be worried about me. That was something I'd wanted my parents to say to me, so I couldn't push Ryou away now that he was actually stepping up to the plate.

"Fine," I sighed. Ryou's face relaxed. "I'll try to meet him again tomorrow. But breathe a word of this around our house anymore and you'll severely regret it!" Ryou nodded triumphantly. He made his way into the kitchen while I lay on the couch and wondered how I could've gotten into such a mess.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Yami Marik<strong>_

When Marik heard the stories of my escapades, he grinned and hugged me around the middle.

"Great job, Yami! Now we won't have to worry about that idiot!" he said happily. I looked at him oddly.

"You're way too happy. What happened? Do you know this 'idiot?'" I asked suspiciously. I knew that tone of voice, as I myself had exhibited it dozens of times. Marik frowned at me, knowing that he couldn't push it any further.

"I hate him," he said with venom. I raised my eyebrows, and he elaborated. "Once, while I was picking through the fields at midnight to see if there were any strawberries, he came and froze when he saw me. I asked him what he was doing, but he started cursing at me. I tried to follow him, but he was too fast. I would've offered him some food if he hadn't been such an idiot!" I stared at him sternly.

"Marik, it was your own fault," I reprimanded. "You're not supposed to go out there by yourself." Marik sighed and folded his arms.

"But Yami-" he began.

"No buts. If I hear about this again, forget about growing your imported strawberries," I finished. Marik ducked his head down, ashamed. I frowned at him, but also frowned inwardly. The man had been emasculated in front of a child, then in front of a market by my watch. It wasn't fair to him. I gave a sigh as I realized that I had to apologize. I also sighed when I realized that Marik had no way of learning his mistake unless he was emasculated. That didn't bode well with me, as I was Marik's protector and teaching him a lesson didn't have to involve harm.

I knew what I had to do. It left a bad taste in my mouth, but as I walked to the market the next day, I began to put my plan into action.

Surprisingly, the man was there again. It was obvious that he was waiting for someone, but what was surprising was that when he saw me, his eyes lit up in recognition and his mouth became a snarl. He'd been waiting for _me_.

"What do you want?" I asked. I watched as his face morphed into a scowl, but I didn't let him answer. "Look, I'm sorry about the other day. I'm also sorry about how my son found you in the strawberry patch." The man narrowed his eyebrows.

"Why the fuck are you apologizing to the man who stole your food?" he snapped. I wanted to comment on how childish he was being, but I decided to play a bigger role.

"Because I want to invite you into our house. It's easier than stealing mass quantities of our food and it's a lot less cheaper than living in your own house while having nothing to eat. If it's a problem, then you can just turn around and say goodbye." I steeled myself for his acceptance. I honestly didn't want him to agree, but I had little choice. This was the only way Marik was going to learn how to be a model citizen, as I didn't want him to hold grudges.

"Is your son okay with that?" the man asked quietly, as if weighing his options. I was surprised that he was agreeing, but I complied.

"He needs to learn that thieves are people, too," I joked. "I hope that your presence would alleviate that issue." The man scoffed and turned away.

"My son might not like the move so much," he said grudgingly. My eyebrows shot up. He had a son as well? No wonder he stole for a living! I just stared at him with shock, but he didn't look back.

"I…think I've been misjudging you all along," I replied. "You have a family."

"It's only my son and me. I don't have a wife," the man said uncomfortably. I narrowed my eyes.

"Me too."

"Trust me, my son is far more unique."

"I highly doubt that."

"What if I told you that he wasn't my son?"

"Big deal. Marik's not my son, either."

"…What if I told you that a man in a turban randomly handed him off to me?"

I froze.

"D-did he try to kill the boy?" I asked after a pause. The man's eyes widened and he suddenly pulled me into a nearby alleyway.

"Where did you hear this?" he asked sharply.

"It h-happened to mine as well!" I said with surprise. The man ran his hands through his hair. I stayed silent, embarrassed at my stutter. I hadn't been around many people since I'd left the fishing life, so my surprise was evident. This man had far too many coincidences to my story for it to be merely chance. I clenched my teeth as I decided to murmur the phrase that would seal the deal.

"Is he you at a younger age?"

The man froze. There was silence between us as we searched each other's expression, trying to find out if we were lying. I clenched my teeth harder. I didn't want to be the only one. It was so lonely staying with only Marik for company, though I knew that if I showed my face around too often, people would put two and two together and discover he was my son…

"Y…yes. Let's go to your place," the man said gruffly. "This isn't something that I want other people to hear." I turned and saw some people glancing our direction curiously.

"Alright then," I said. "Come with me."

"Wait!" the man called as I strode away. I paused and raised an eyebrow at him. He caught up and leaned into my ear. "I'll be taking you up on your offer. Wait for Ryou and me. We'll be here in ten minutes." I nodded, marveling at how I'd come to this market every day and hadn't noticed that the thief who stole my goods had always been merely ten minutes away.

As promised, the man returned with his hand around a miniature version of himself. It had only taken him five minutes, but he gave a calculating gaze all the same.

"Yami, why are we here?" the smaller one asked.

"We're moving," the man said curtly. He turned to me. "Oh, by the way, what was your name again?" The boy's face turned a brilliant crimson as he spluttered indignantly.

"We're moving? What are you talking about? We're living a fine life!" he shouted. "Are you crazy? You don't even know this guy's name! What if he's a serial killer? I haven't seen him around these parts!" I rolled my eyes.

"Your father is a thief and you're accusing _me_ of being a serial killer?" I snorted. "There must be something wrong here." The boy's face paled quickly and Bakura gave me a pointed glare.

"Not where everyone can hear you, you fool," he hissed. "Ryou, there isn't much at our house without the couch and the disguises, right? We can just go live with, erm…"

"Yami," I supplied. The man snarled and the boy's, Ryou's, eyes widened. I realized that I had the same name as the man did, but refused to think much of it.

"Yami, then. We'll live with him and his son from now on," he replied. Ryou didn't put up an argument when he saw the serious expression on his father's face. I looked at Ryou.

"You probably know my son. He's around your age," I muttered. "His name's Marik." Ryou stared at me with surprise.

"Marik Ishtar?" Ryou asked uncertainly. The other man groaned.

"Let's just go, Ryou," he muttered. Ryou gulped and maintained his pale face. He nodded once before I began to lead the two toward my home. Along the way, I couldn't help but give the man a questioning glance.

"Hey, I didn't catch your name," I said gruffly.

"It's…Bakura," he replied gruffly. Ryou looked at the two of us incredulously and shook his head afterwards, convinced that we were both crazy. When we reached the front porch, I knocked on the door and waited for Marik to answer. Unfortunately, my cape had billowed out and I stepped away to tamp it down just as the door opened.

"Ryou?" Marik breathed enthusiastically. Ryou sighed and looked to the ground.

"Hello, Marik," he said through gritted teeth. Judging by the amount of adoration in Marik's eyes, I realized that Ryou was his current crush. I sighed. Today was going to be a long day.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Marik Ishtar<strong>_

I latched onto my perfect Ryou and refused to let him go. He finally accepted me! He really came!

"Ah! I'm the luckiest man alive!" I said happily. "Thank you for accepting my date offer, Ryou!"

"Marik, let go!" Ryou shouted. I paid him no heed, of course. He probably wanted to pull back and see my face, but this was infinitely more romanti-

"Date offer?" came Yami's amused voice. I yelped and skittered away from Ryou with my hands behind my back, glancing at my Yami sheepishly.

"Y-Yami! Where did you come from?" I asked with fright. "You're supposed to be out today…" I noticed the black-haired man from before giving me a smug look. "And you're the thief! Why are you out in broad daylight? I'd recognize your sorry ass anywhere!" Ryou growled.

"Don't speak to my father that way!" he roared. I cowered. I didn't want to make Ryou unhappy, no matter _how_ much of a jerk his…father was.

"Uh…of course! I-I meant I'd recognize his donkey anywhere!" I stuttered, gesturing to an invisible donkey that had never existed and will never exist. There was a moment of silence before I fell to my knees and clasped my hands. "Oh please don't break up with me!"

"We're not even going out!" Ryou replied harshly. I immediately understood. His father didn't know about us.

"Oh, right!" I said, winking at him. "We're definitely NOT going out and we're definitely NOT in a relationship and we're NOT going to go out to dinner this evening," I said in the most innocent voice I could muster. Ryou sighed and slammed his head into the heel of his hand as his father tried to stifle his laughter. I glared at him, but then caught Ryou's glare and somewhat withered in return.

"Marik, are you going to let us in?" Yami asked, trying to suppress his chuckles as well. At least _he_ knew the truth!

"Of course! Any family of Ryou's is family of mine!" I chirped, sliding graciously out of the way. Ryou was red with embarrassment and attraction. I bet he _loved_ the way I moved aside for his father! But his father stared at me as if I was a nuisance. I stuck my tongue out at him before getting a glare from Yami instead. Was there no way I could win?

"Alright you two, listen up," the thief snapped. "My name Yami Bakura, but you can call me Bakura." Yami and I nodded instantly, though I was glancing at Ryou to make sure he saw how good I was being.

"My name is Yami Marik," Yami said in return. "But you two can call me Mariku." Wait, both of their names began with "Yami"! What a coincidence!

"This is no coincidence," Bakura said sternly. I deflated somewhat. "Let's just say…we have a bit of news to tell you about your heritage." Instantly, the atmosphere turned serious. I turned to Yami with a question in my eyes.

"Bakura's right. This is serious," he replied. "You and Ryou should sit down and listen." I nodded curtly and sat on the couch next to Ryou. He pushed me away, but I immediately understood. His father probably didn't get the hint and still thought that we were just frie-

"You two aren't our sons," Bakura said. I froze, staring at him with shock. There was silence as I gaped and Ryou took in the information. His eyes were closed, but I could tell that he was furious…

"What the hell does _that_ mean?" I snapped. Ryou shot me a glare.

"It means that we aren't their legitimate children, you idiot!" he replied sharply. Yami placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Marik, be nice!" he said slowly.

"W-Wait, he's not lying?" I said, shocked. "You're not my father?"

"Of course he isn't!" Ryou shouted. He glared at his not-father. "I knew it! I fucking KNEW it!" Bakura stared at him sternly, but Ryou whipped his arms out with indignation. "Who the hell am I? Did you _steal_ me from my family?" At this, Bakura looked visibly stricken. I turned away from Yami and dashed away to my room, slamming the door. I couldn't handle this news. All this time, I thought that I wasn't the only one in everything. All this time…

"Marik, open up," Yami pleaded through the door. "You haven't heard the entire story."

"I don't want to hear it," I muttered. "I thought he was lying! He's lying, isn't he?" Yami paused, giving me the answer that I didn't want to hear.

"You aren't my son," Yami sighed. I was about to turn away when his next words stopped me in my tracks.

"You're _me_."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Ryou Bakura<strong>_

"I'm WHAT?" I hissed. "You've got to be kidding me. This is all a practical joke, isn't it?" Even as I said it, I knew that it wasn't true. I'd told Yami over and over again about how I couldn't stand Marik, but he still took me to the damned boy's house. He'd never told his true name to anyone else, and yet he'd told it to my hated enemy and his supposed father. I also knew Yami's expressions as if it was an open book. This wasn't a joke. It never would be.

"Ryou, you're me in a different life. My birth name is Ryou Bakura," Bakura sighed. I stared at him with shock, too furious to form words. "I ran away from home because I was stifled and I couldn't bear to live like that any longer. You have to understand, Ryou," he pleaded. "I only wanted what was best for you. The person who gave you to me left no other option; it was either raise you, or let you drown in the ocean."

"Then you should have let me drown," I said angrily. "At least I wouldn't have been deceived." I left the room and tried to blink back my tears. This day had been completely horrible. Not only was I considered the stupidest person in my class for getting the lowest grade on the final exam, Yami completely worried me and ruined my life. I made my way outside the house and kept walking. I heard Yami shout out for me, but I didn't listen. It was only when he caught up to me that I let my tears go.

"I'm sorry, Ryou," he said sadly.

"Y-you _idiot_!" I sobbed. "I thought that you were my father! I thought that I had a mother and a father and that I was a normal boy!" I pounded his chest. "I thought we were going to find Mama someday and we'd be a family!" Yami sighed and rubbed my head.

"I'm sorry I let you down," he said softly. "But we're still a family, right?" I shook my head, and he chuckled. "Now you're just being stubborn."

"I have every right to be," I murmured. "I just got cheated out of a family."

"If you let them, they could be your family," Yami said. I knew immediately who he was talking about and I frowned.

"You're crazy if you think I'll call _Marik_ my brother," I hissed.

"Well, I don't know," he said off-handedly. "I thought he was more of a fiancé!" I smacked him lightly on the chest before moving away and taking a deep breath.

"Whatever, Yami. Let's…let's just go back," I said, heading toward Marik's house. I held Yami's hand while I went back. He was still my family, after all, even though he was…me. I still needed more information to understand that, but I could wait. I had to take this one step at a time before I could fully comprehend what I was going to do next. When we reached Marik's house, I dropped Yami's hand and turned to him. "I'll need more information, but not now. Right now…just let me adjust." He nodded, and we both entered to see Mariku hugging a dazed Marik with all his might.

"We're back," Yami muttered. Mariku stopped hugging Marik and gave him a fatherly pat on the head. Marik smiled at me.

"Thank you for coming back!" he chirped. "I was worried that I would have to send out a search party after you!" I sighed exasperatedly.

"I'm not your boyfriend," I grumbled. "Get over it." Marik laughed and plodded over to me like the immature brat he was.

"Of course you're not! You're practically my fiancé!" he said proudly. Yami gave me a knowing look while Mariku only looked amused. Marik flung his arms around me with exhilaration. "Glad you see it my way!"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Marik Ishtar<strong>_

Over the next few days, I told the entire school that Ryou Bakura, the hottest boy ever, was living with _me_! My friends cheered for me, and I finally felt as if my dreams were coming true. Everyone seemed happy, especially Yami. He was emotional ever since I'd told him that it didn't matter whether he was me or the clone of my worst bully; he was still my father. I didn't know why I had ran when I first heard the news, but after some thinking I realized it was just because I was surprised as well as a bit miffed that _Bakura_, out of all people was _right_.

Surprisingly, it was easy for Yami and Bakura to get along. They were always together, planting crops, pulling weeds, and just talking about how their lives were changed when Ryou and I came to be from wherever we'd come from. Ryou looked on their relationship distastefully, but I understood. He was just worried that their relationship would overshadow our wonderful, budding romance!

"Don't worry, Ryou! Their relationship is nothing compared to ours!" I said confidently. Ryou scowled at me.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he snapped. "And would you quit it with the relationship already? Just because we're living together doesn't mean that we have a connection or anything." I rolled my eyes and chose to ignore the last bit.

"How do you not see it?" I exclaimed, wrenching a hand out at our fathers. "They're so cute!" Ryou huffed and turned to go back inside. I frowned and followed him. "What's wrong, Ryou?"

"EVERYTHING!" he suddenly exploded, whirling onto me and waving his arms. "I was living FINE until we came here! I didn't have to worry about the fact that I didn't have legitimate parents, that Yami was befriending total strangers, and most of all…" he growled, staring straight at me. "…I didn't have to worry about avoiding you at all costs!"

"You don't have to avoid me," I tried to placate, but he cut me off.

"I WANT to avoid you!" he screamed. "I wish that you'd just leave me alone! Just because _you're_ gay doesn't mean that _I_ am as well!" I tried not to laugh at that.

"Really Ryou? You're straight?" I mocked. "Because it looks to me like your clone over there is gay, and you have the same exact genetic make up as he does!" There was a pause as Ryou's face turned an impossible shade of angry red. I'd struck a nerve, and a big one too. Without a word, Ryou went away. I didn't dare follow for fear that he'd chew me out.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Yami Bakura<strong>_

It was hard to adjust, but after living for four years with Marik and Mariku, Ryou and I eventually fit into a routine. In spite of the front Mariku made, I realized that my stealing had actually caused him some grief in terms of feeding himself and Marik. At first, I was proud, but later I felt ashamed. Mariku and I learned of each other's past, and though our circumstances were different, we had the same misgivings regarding our environments and their faults. I felt horrible stealing from this hardworking man who had to do so much in order to make a living for his "son." Naturally, I tried to make up for it by giving my all when it came to crops.

I picked up on it quickly, as I had a tendency to learn things immediately. Mariku was impressed, but he didn't really mind the fact that I could pick up crops more efficiently. I was fast where he was strong; I could form a pile of crops instantly, but he could transport that pile to the kitchen where Ryou worked on the meals.

With regards to Ryou, the emotions were still there. He was sometimes hateful and sat on the roof in contemplation at night. I understood, as I usually picked crops at night so that I wouldn't get burned. Ryou's element was in the darkness, just like mine. It was when no one could bother him and he could keep his thoughts to himself. Sometimes, I caught him talking to himself, but I left his conversations private. I knew how it was to have a conversation alone; it released tension and allowed you to get your thoughts in order. A benefit was that Ryou got to sleep during most of the day, preventing people like Marik from getting on his nerves.

Marik was the most fascinating character in the family. At first, he would grumble and groan when he saw me and brighten when he saw Ryou, but he gradually accepted me and left Ryou alone. To an extent. He was still convinced that he and Ryou were in love. It was extremely amusing to see Ryou and Marik together because it was always a show of antagonism and enthusiasm clashing. The funniest part was when Marik retreated like a dog with its tail between its legs when Ryou has enough. It was almost a guarantee that he would return to flirt with Ryou some more. I only wait for the day when he moves on to someone else. That boy, now man, would make a great husband to whoever he marries.

I was with him, tutoring him with mathematics. Marik always had a grip on the Arabic language, but for some reason mathematics eluded him. Ryou, of course, refused to tutor him. Mariku couldn't afford to buy another tutor, so that left me in charge. As I tutored him, I noticed his brows furrowing at odd intervals and his eyes darting to the door at every sound. I rolled my eyes at his obvious discomfort that had nothing to do with math. If I hadn't gotten to know him so well over the years, I would've beaten him for not paying attention.

"What's wrong, Marik?" I asked. He focused his large, purple eyes at me.

"Mariku's birthday is coming!" he hissed. "I have no idea what I'm going to get him!" I froze. Mariku was always a hard one to read. He insisted that he didn't need anything, or that he didn't want us to buy anything for him. I had cut down on my stealing, but whenever Mariku's birthday rolled around, I had to find a rare item to steal. I only stole because I always got his gifts at the last minute, using all my other energies to find out what I should get him in the first place.

"Do you have any ideas?" I asked Marik earnestly. Marik chewed his inner lip.

"I was thinking of getting him a pair of earrings. I saved up for those gold ones!" he whispered excitedly. I grunted, a bit miffed. Mariku would love those for sure. He'd pierced his own ears on a whim and fitted hoops on his ears, though he'd grumbled about how they didn't really suit him. Marik's idea was probably the best, and the worst part was that Mariku always loved Marik's gifts the best. I felt the same way about Ryou's gifts, but still…something about Mariku made me want to impress him fully. He was always happy with me whenever I did my share of the work, but I wanted more. I _craved_ more. It was easy to get his approval, but I wanted his happiness. I wanted something that Marik couldn't have. I didn't know what it was, but it was powerful. Mariku couldn't gather as many crops as I could gather. He couldn't steal as well as I could, and he couldn't cook with ease the way I could. Somehow, he still had the upper hand. He had me, Marik, and even Ryou trying to impress him for all that he did for us, but I still felt that it was different with me. I always saw, at the back of my mind, Mariku hugging Marik and looking at him as if he were the best person in the world. I wanted that. I wanted more than that.

So I vowed to myself that I'd get the best damn present Mariku could ever receive.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Marik Ishtar<strong>_

I finished my mathematics homework and laid on my bed, fingering the box under my pillow. On a whim, two years ago, I'd bought it so that I could propose to Ryou when I came of age and we could live happily. Now that I _was_ of age, though, I wasn't so sure. Ryou got asked out by guys and girls alike several times a week. He had relationships that ranged from a month to six months at the most, and usually it was the other person dumping _him_. I was pretty miffed during those intervals of dating, and I couldn't help but whisper "adulterer" under my breath whenever I saw Ryou and his dates. The box under my pillow was pretty useless, all things considered. Even in my most honest moments, Ryou never went out with me. Even when I poured my heart out for him, he merely turned and scoffed at my futile attempts.

I began to relate to the dastardly Bakura. He was always fascinated with Mariku, but Mariku never really gave him the love he wanted. I could see Bakura giving a pained glance whenever I shared an affectionate moment with my "father," and I knew that he wished that it was him receiving the attention. All the same, it was for Mariku to figure out on his own. If Bakura and I told him about Bakura's affections, he'd feel obligated to make Bakura happy. A fake Mariku wasn't the ideal Mariku Bakura had in mind. I sighed.

The only plan I had was to give Bakura some suggestions about what present he should get for Mariku, but that would be inauthentic and I could practically see Bakura's eyes oozing contempt. I knew that if anything were to happen, it would have to be from Mariku's side. I smiled. I knew that there was only one person I could ask for help, and that one person was none other than Ryou Bakura.

"Ryou!" I called one night in his room. Of course, it was empty. Ryou tended to go onto the roof at these moments, something that I let him do. He was mellower when he went onto the roof and contemplated with himself, and a mellower Ryou meant more responsive bonding time for our relationship. This situation, however, was extremely vital. "Ryou!" I hissed again, poking my head out of the window.

"What?" came the flat answer. I wanted to crawl onto the roof, but I knew that Ryou would be even angrier. I inwardly cheered at my expanse of knowledge, but outwardly expressed my urgency.

"I need to talk to you about Mariku's birthday," I whispered harshly, knowing that Mariku's room was right beside mine. Ryou sighed, but I felt him shuffle towards the edge of the roof and look at me upside-down.

"What is it?" he asked. I gulped and told him about Bakura's predicament. At first, I thought that he wouldn't believe me and would force me to work alone. He pulled his head up and didn't respond to my tirade. With a sigh, I retreated back into his room and walked out the door. "Marik," Ryou whispered from the window. I turned and saw his upside-down irritated expression.

"Hm?"

"Aren't you coming up?"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Ryou Bakura<strong>_

I never liked Marik's hopeful face. It always made me feel like I was leading him on.

When he had come up to the roof with me for the first time, I saw that hopeful face and felt my scowl deepen just a bit. Of course, Marik didn't notice that. He began chattering away about his half-finished plans that had little chance at success.

"Look," I finally said. "I know Bakura. I also know that he'd never do anything like _that_." Marik stopped talking and looked at me with an eyebrow raised.

"Well, what do you suggest? If we cooperate, we'll be able to get them together!" he chirped. I shrugged and looked at the moon. At first, I hadn't wanted to believe that Bakura, who I grew out of calling Yami, was in love with Mariku. That would mean that we were all truly a family, something that I didn't really want. I came to terms with the fact that Bakura was my older self, but it was also true that we were our own people. The fact that he was leaving me was his own decision, but one that made me wish that we were more alike. That he was cautious, like me, or that I was daring, like him. But his daring nature was what would get him together with Mariku.

"We have to have them fight together," I confirmed.

"Huh?" Marik asked confusedly. "Fight together?"

"Yeah," I said. "Think about it. They only ever show their true natures when they're in a pinch. I know for a fact that my 'father' would give up everything to save yours."

"It's the same with my father," he replied. "But how will we get them to fight alongside each other? There's no real gangs or anything to fight." I looked at him witheringly. How could he _not_ know?

"It's called a 'bar,' Marik," I sighed. "Ever heard of a 'bar fight?'" Marik gave me a look that clearly said that he hadn't. I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. Just trust me." His confused expression morphed into a grin, making my guilt dig deeper.

"That I can do, Ryou!" he said loyally.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Yami Marik<strong>_

I had to raise my eyebrow when I saw that everyone was keeping secrets. It was very obvious that Bakura was hiding something, for example, since his eyes always had that calculating expression I'd grown accustomed to while living with him for four years. Marik and Ryou were always plotting together, and while Marik seemed more keen on being close to Ryou than actually planning whatever he was planning, I could tell that there was something serious going on based on Ryou's urgent expression.

I had no idea what it was until my birthday actually rolled around, making it simultaneously the best and second-worst days of my life, next to the day I was kicked out of my village.

It began when Bakura came into my room with a stern expression in the morning and sat next to my bed.

"I am your servant for the rest of the day," he said aloud. I raised my eyebrows, but nodded. He was always surprising me, something that had grown endearing over the years. All the same, I knew that if he was my "servant" for the rest of the day, I must've meant something really important to him.

"Bakura…are you sure?" I asked, surprised. He nodded firmly.

"It's your birthday, Mariku," he said grudgingly. "Happy Birthday." I smiled at him and sat up.

"Well, my first act as your 'owner' is to release you from my service," I said. He scowled. "I don't want to go to the local festival with my 'servant.' I want to go with my friend." Bakura's face gave a hint of a blush and he grinned.

"Ah, so that's what you meant. You're so cryptic," he cackled. I laughed.

"That's the plan. Are the boys up?" I asked, even though I knew they were men. Bakura nodded and got me out of bed.

"They made breakfast for you downstairs. Come on, we have to go," he said hurriedly. I masked a grin when I realized that he was trying to cover up the fact that his stomach was growling. Ryou's food had that effect on people.

The breakfast was delicious. Ryou had made his specialty creampuffs with his perfected recipe of koshari, a dish that he somehow managed to match with his creampuffs. Bakura, at one point, decided that he would feed me as my impromptu "servant," and despite my protests Marik managed to tickle me at that _one spot_ and force me to open my mouth.

"Say 'ah!'" he chirped as Bakura grinned and fed me. Ryou turned away with embarrassment, but I decided to sit and enjoy it. It wasn't very often that Bakura fed me, and to be honest, it felt nice. As if he cared about me more than a friend.

Before I had time to delve back into my hidden misery regarding unrequited love, Marik tickled me again and Bakura shoved more food into my mouth. I rolled my eyes at their antics, but concentrated on my breakfast instead of my dilemma.

"Ryou! I bought you a necklace!" Marik said happily once we were at the market. Ryou gave a groan but accepted it nonetheless. I smiled as Marik beamed with happiness and I grinned when Ryou bought him a pair of armbands in return. Marik was positively jubilant.

A nudge to my side made me meet my gaze to Bakura's sneaky one. Without a word, he pressed a coin into my hand and pointed at a vendor. I smirked at him and walked over to the vendor, wondering what he had in store for me.

"How may I help you, sir?" the man asked nervously, intimidated by my presence. I took out a coin and his eyes widened. "Ah, I see. Very good, sir." He immediately bustled to the back of his shop and pulled out a sturdy, violet cape that easily dominated my shabby one. I looked at it, shocked, then back at Bakura, who waved at me lazily. Exchanging the coin for the cape, I fastened it on and made my way to Bakura with another smile in my eyes. It was getting to be very hard to suppress my emotions around him, especially since he was acting this way.

"Wait," he said suddenly. "Where are Marik and Ryou?" I shrugged.

"Nowhere important?" I said. "They probably found a ride or something and are running to try it out. Or, more than likely, they're fighting in some corner where Ryou can easily smack him upside the head for, once again, insinuating that they're in a relationship." Bakura laughed and shook his head.

"You're probably right," he said. "Let's finish this festival up."

We had a great time. A stand had been selling fireworks, and Bakura had gotten some before he set them off in front of the old priests who thought that they were too good for the village. He made me laugh on several occasions, making it harder and harder for me to resist my emotions. The man was amazing, and he was doing everything he could to make me happy. I was enamored and filled with appreciation for his efforts. The happy day was suddenly pulled into a screeching halt when Marik, pale-faced, rushed in front of us.

"HELP!" he screamed. "Mariku! Bakura! It's Ryou!" I watched as Bakura's face paled and felt my blood run cold. Ryou was in trouble?

"Where is he?" I roared. Bakura looked over to where Marik's eyes kept darting. He rushed towards a bar and I followed suit. Inside, I heard crashes and screams.

"RYOU!" Marik screamed as he scrambled after us. "Where are you?" I saw a flash of white that wasn't Bakura and headed straight for it. Bakura followed me, and we suddenly found ourselves in a circle of thugs surrounding my surrogate, white-haired son.

"Ryou!" Bakura yelled before jumping into the ring. I followed and leered at a couple of men who were looking at Ryou provocatively.

"Can't blame us for wanting a pretty piece of meat like him, can you?" one drawled. Marik, from beside me, glared at him.

"If you hurt him at all, so help me…" he threatened weakly. The ring laughed and one of them leaned forward to touch Ryou's hair. Ryou blanched away, wide-eyed. Bakura immediately snarled and lurched, attacking the man with whatever he had.

The fight began almost instantaneously. Ryou and Marik edged away to a safer place while Bakura and I decked the men surrounding us. With a quick side-swipe, I managed to dislodge Bakura's assailant and uppercut another man while I was at it. Bakura immediately kicked a man in the groin once he was free of his opponent.

I took off my cape and used it to cover Marik and Ryou as I fought the men surrounding them. Marik suddenly frowned and took off the cape, clenching his fists and running at someone. Ryou, luckily, grabbed his collar and yanked him back, reprimanding him the entire time. I felt a bit of relief when I realized that his vigor represented the fact that he was alright overall.

When I turned back, I saw that Bakura was struggling with three opponents at once. With a roar, I lunged at one of them but managed to take two of them down in one go. While I was down, Bakura suddenly gained some newfound strength and dashed at another man. I felt fear prick its way through my heart at the thought of Bakura being harmed in any which way, so I mustered up my strength and quickly knocked the two men beneath me unconscious before going over and aiding Bakura. He grunted and shoved me out of the way.

"Get out of here with the boys!"

"No!" I yelled back. "I won't leave you!" His eyes widened and we stared at each other momentarily before someone punched me in the gut. With a snarl Bakura quickly slammed him to the ground and started beating the shit out of him just as I lurched back upright and decked the man about to hurt Bakura.

Within ten minutes the fight was over. Those who backed off didn't dare come close, and those who didn't back off lay writhing on the floor in pain.

"H-how are you, Bakura?" I hissed, holding my side in pain. He panted, but gave me an unreadable look. I felt my worry escalate. "Are you alright?" Without a word, Bakura grabbed my hand and dragged me over to where our "sons" were. He gestured for the two of them to move, and they did. We made our way to our house, where Bakura wordlessly dumped all our belongings, sent the boys to their room, and turned to me.

"You fucking bastard," he growled before grabbing a fistful of my hair and mashing our faces together. I gave a surprised sound before succumbing into the kiss. It was nice. I was floating on air. Bakura's lips roved over mine as he led us to the bedroom, and before I could register what was happening we finished the night with stars.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Yami Bakura<strong>_

It was strange, the way everything played out after that. Ryou and Marik were surprised when we told them about our relationship, and I could see Ryou's face melt into one of panic as Marik gave him a sly grin, but other than that, they seemed unperturbed. Mariku told me that Marik said that he'd already "predicted" it, and that Téa now owed him fifty coins. Ryou only rolled his eyes when I asked the question, as if to ask "Really?"

As for Mariku and me, we had the time of our lives. It seemed as if we'd been dancing around each other forever even in such close proximity. I now got to enjoy frequent walks and outings with him as Marik and Ryou watched the house. Well, Ryou watched the house and Marik watched Ryou.

At any rate, our walks were my equivalent of heaven. Mariku and I talked about whatever was going through our heads regarding the market, home improvement techniques, and our "friends" at town square. His opinions fascinated me to no end. Sometimes they differed greatly from mine, but other times, they were interesting to hear. We also stole occasionally and I laughed every time he got caught. He used his intimidating presence to halt the vendors in their tracks, and they were forced to give him the petty item for free. Mariku refused to steal anything of true value. That left me to take care of the valuables.

"Bakura?" Mariku called one night from our room. I looked over to where he was pinning on the earrings Marik gave him. I stretched and yawned.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Both of our 'sons' want us to have friends," he grumbled, and I could tell that he was using that certain tone where he wanted something but was being gruff to cover it up. I raised my eyebrows.

"You want friends? What about the ones from the market?" I asked. Mariku looked at me, gobsmacked, but I only gave him a withering look. "I've been living with you for four years. I know what you mean when you say that 'our sons' want us to have friends." Mariku chuckled.

"Well, it's just that we're the weirdest people in town. None of Ryou's friends want to come over to his house because they don't know who we are. They don't have to know that we're together, but it would be nice to have some sort of public relationship."

"Hm," I replied, averting my eyes. I liked our haven and its privacy. I knew that the other townspeople would take a liking to us if we got to know them, but, frankly, I wasn't too keen on the idea of sharing my family with them. Mariku, Ryou, and Marik were mine. I didn't want the others to take them away the way my parents took me away from my friends.

All the same, the expression on Mariku's eyes was hopeful. I knew that I couldn't hold on, that I had to relent at some point. I merely sighed and waited for something to happen that would leave me no choice but to face the outside world.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Marik Ishtar<strong>_

Ever since Mariku and Bakura got together, Ryou had been avoiding me like the plague. I knew that he was frightened about the amount of love he must no doubt feel due to the cemented relationship of our older versions, but I missed him. I was forced to give him space after noticing that he seemed truly upset. Despite it all, if worst comes to worst, even lovers need space.

I never really had a chance to worry about the familial problems that were occurring when, one day, Téa had run up to me with tears in her eyes.

"Marik…I need your help," she said listlessly. I'd been buying some peaches for Bakura when she'd approached, and I nearly dropped them in surprise. Téa was never sad. Téa always had a smile on her face. Something was different.

"What's wrong?" I asked urgently. She choked a sob, but didn't answer. I saw as she patted a hand to her stomach, and my blood ran cold. "Where's Yugi?" I hissed.

"Marik, please-" she began, but I cut her off.

"_Where is he_?" I seethed. Téa burst into tears, then, and she burrowed her face into my chest.

"He's gone!" she wailed. "He was leaving and we were saying goodbye when one thing came to another and…and I don't know! Oh Marik, please don't hate me!" I frowned.

"Téa…what do you mean he's gone?" I asked slowly, feeling rage seep into my veins. Did Yugi just leave her in this condition?

"He was leaving…to go to America and start a business with his grandfather," she hiccupped, still hiding her face. "We slept together the night he left, and…and I've been feeling weird and he doesn't know and I know I'm nineteen but…I don't think I can do this alone, Marik!" Téa clenched my shirt in her fists. "My parents…my friends…" I understood. If homosexuality was a problem in this area, a pregnant girl without a husband was an even bigger problem. I bit my lip and felt worry prick at my heartstrings.

"W-well…" I began. "Until…until Yugi comes back…" Téa looked up at me hopelessly. "_I'll_ pretend to be the father." Téa's eyes widened and she let her grip go. I watched as she backed away from me, slack-jawed.

"I can't betray Yugi like that," she whispered. "If he hears about this…" I grew frustrated with her.

"You two are both idiots!" I hissed. Téa flinched. "You're pregnant because of your wrong choices, as well as Yugi's. The only other option is an abortion." Téa's face paled and she shook her head. "Okay, then. It's settled." I looked away. "Yugi knows that I'm gay, and he also knows that I always put my friends before me. I want to do this because I don't want you or your baby to be hurt by prying eyes, okay? I'm not doing this because I want to betray Yugi or something stupid like that. So don't accuse me, got it?" Téa began crying again, and I immediately felt like the stupid one. She was pregnant. She was also very stressed already.

"D-don't be m-mad at me Marik," she sobbed. "I'm sorry!" I sighed and pulled her into a hug. Téa's mother and father couldn't know about this. She wasn't showing apparent signs yet, but she would soon. I quickly pocketed the peaches and took her hand.

"We have to get married as soon as possible," I hissed. "I know your parents will approve, right?" Téa nodded. Her parents saw me as a hardworking man with a cheerful demeanor. "Good. Let's go." I immediately took charge and walked her to my house. Whenever people asked what was wrong, I told them that she was upset that Yugi left and that I had to give her something. They gave me a knowing look, and I felt somewhat disgusted at how they immediately assumed that I had been waiting until Yugi was gone to propose. The most annoying thing was that they congratulated me, despite Téa's apparent distress. I only offered a curt nod before continuing my mission.

All the same, my thoughts ran through my head at a breakneck pace. What was I going to do about the issue of fatherhood?

* * *

><p><em><strong>Yami Marik<strong>_

"I'm getting married, you guys."

If it weren't for the fact that Marik's face was carved out of stone, I wouldn't have believed him. Bakura, however, chuckled and patted his shoulder.

"I don't think Ryou will consent anytime soon," he remarked. Marik's brow furrowed deeper.

"I'm getting married to Téa. The entire thing with Ryou was a joke. I'm not gay," he said mechanically. I looked at him seriously. He was lying, that much was obvious. Even Bakura could see it.

"Have you told Ryou yet?" he said in a low voice. Marik sighed.

"No. He'll be fine, though, he's dating that Miho girl," he said off-handedly. Bakura's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Nevertheless, he cares for you Marik. I know it. You may have been 'joking' with Ryou, but he has some true feelings for you buried in there," Bakura ranted. I placed a hand on his to calm him. Marik was considerably pale, and I knew something was wrong.

"Why the urgency, Marik? What's going on?" I asked. Marik looked away.

"She's pregnant with my child," he said. "Her parents can't and won't know." My hand immediately clenched around Bakura's. He gave me a glance and saw my complete fury before he turned to Marik.

"I think you'd better leave," he said coldly. Marik nodded and stood up, staring at me with regret and shame in his eyes. I could only stare at him with revulsion. How many times had we lectured to him about having sex without commitment? Marik was, of course, ready to be married off, but now he had no choice. Worse, Bakura was right. Ryou did care for him at some level, but Marik was utterly oblivious.

"That boy," I spat. "Impregnating the poor girl and forcing her to marry him." Bakura placed a hand on my shoulder.

"We can't worry about this now," he whispered. "Leave the drama. We have a speed-wedding to plan."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Ryou Bakura<strong>_

I came home to white flowers, bunches of lace, and an overenthusiastic couple of parents talking to my "fathers." I dropped my bag on the shelf and looked around for an explanation. Marik was chatting with Téa in a low voice. I raised an eyebrow at his secretive demeanor and headed over so he could explain.

"What's going on, Marik?" I asked sternly. Marik suddenly grinned at me and gestured to Téa.

"I'm getting married, Ryou!" he said happily. I felt my face morph into one of surprise.

"Really?" I asked. "You haven't even dated her!" I flushed, realizing that the sentence sounded rather rude. All the same, the entire situation was really a bizarre one.

"I know, but I guess that we've loved each other all along!" he replied, still cheerful. I nodded, dazed by the news. All this time, Marik had been straight? This threw off all of my musings. I realized that I didn't have to fear Marik anymore, that I didn't have to avoid him like the plague. It was a relief, really. All this time, I'd thought that I was destined to marry Marik, especially since Mariku and Bakura were a couple. Now, however, I felt that I could actually learn to befriend him.

"Well, I'm happy for you," I said warmly. "When is the wedding date?" Marik bit his lip.

"We didn't really want to wait," he said slowly. "Téa and I decided that the best date was tomorrow." I felt my eyebrows shoot up. I wouldn't have any time to befriend Marik, it seemed. He would leave with his bride and I wouldn't be living with him anymore.

The news was bittersweet to me. On one hand, Marik was leaving and wouldn't pester me so much. On the other, he was leaving and I was losing a family member. I found, with surprise, that his departure caused more hurt than good. I smiled at him and attempted to quash the feeling.

"Well, I wish you the best of luck!" I said. He nodded and grinned.

"I'll be sure to visit often," he said excitedly. "In the meantime, Téa and I will go into the house that was abandoned next to the wheat field. Remember that house?"

I didn't remember, but I nodded. He nodded back, and the silence took an awkward turn. Usually, Marik babbled about how he was going to marry me and have the lilies flutter on our windowsill. He would go on and on about the frequent picnics and the laughter of the children we would adopt. Well, now. How things have changed.

"Hey, let's continue decorating!" he said to Téa, who smiled and nodded. I wanted to help them, but I suddenly felt sick. Bakura gave me a look while Mariku talked with Téa's parents. I could tell he was worried, but he didn't make a comment.

I was busy trying to understand what I was feeling.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Yami Bakura<strong>_

Three months into the marriage, Ryou began having his issues. He would snap at us, give us sarcastic remarks, and act like a child. I couldn't put up with it for long, but Mariku often sat him down and talked to him. Or, at least, he tried until Ryou would burst into tears and head into his room. It was strange, the way he gave out all this melodrama and didn't even acknowledge the fact that his love for Marik was the cause of it.

Marik had come early into this month to tell us formally that Téa was pregnant. Ryou's face had paled, but he had a painted smile akin to the ones of the many dolls he now made. Mariku glanced at Marik with a cold look, unsurprised but disappointed. Marik's guilt immediately returned. Mariku had a great effect on him.

"You two have really green thumbs!" Téa said shyly. "Marik and I tried to plant some trees, but they didn't bear that much fruit. Marik sure knows a lot, though." Mariku nodded at her stiffly. He blamed both Marik and Téa, but luckily, Téa didn't focus too much on his reaction. Instead, she was unnervingly focused on Ryou. "How have you been, Ryou? Marik has told me tons about you." Marik coughed indiscreetly and efficiently changed the subject, but Téa always managed to veer it straight back to Ryou. It was adorable the way Marik was going up against his own methods of bringing attention toward his and Ryou's relationship. I had to say, however, that the two bantered more as friends did, and less as a married couple did. Ryou sat perfectly still through it all, staring at his cup of tea as if he could see the meaning of life in its contents. Marik chattered on and on with Téa, but didn't spare Ryou a glance. It was almost as if he was purposefully avoiding him.

"Well," I said when the clock hit eight o'clock. "I believe that it's time for you two to go." Mariku gave another one of his stiff nods, and he stood up. Marik stood up as well, biting his lip. He suddenly wrapped his arms around Mariku, who looked down incredulously.

"I'm sorry for my mistake," Marik said. "I know it was stupid, but I don't want it to ruin the rest of our relationship." Mariku looked away.

"Our relationship doesn't matter at this point," he said coldly. "You have a family to support. If you are successful, good job. But you have too much to lose now, even if you are nineteen."

"…Right," Marik said softly. "But I still love you, Yami. No matter what." I saw Marik's expression flicker slightly, but Marik straightened and turned towards the door. Téa followed him, glancing back at us with an odd, guilty expression. It was far more remorseful than Marik's, as if _she_ was the cause of the problem. The minute the door closed, Mariku let two tears escape.

"I miss him so much," he choked. I walked over to him and hugged him.

"I know, I miss him as well," I replied, though I knew that he was far closer to his "son" than I was. Ryou looked at the door with a longing expression in his eyes, then set his tea down and walked back up to his room. I heard the door shut, but I resumed my attempt to comfort Mariku.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Marik Ishtar<strong>_

It was during Téa's seventh month that the drama unfolded. We received a letter in the mail detailing that Yugi was coming over immediately, and Téa nearly fainted. I calmed her down, but inside I was in turmoil. This was the moment of truth. Either Yugi stayed to raise his child, or he left him or her here with me again. Téa still wrung her hands worriedly, but we stared at each other over the table and distracted ourselves with meaningless conversation.

"When do you think he's coming?" she suddenly voiced. I shrugged. I hadn't seen Yugi in a while.

"If he's anything like he was when he left, he'll be here soon."

A few minutes later, a harsh knocking was heard on the door. I sighed and took Téa's hand.

"I think it'd be best if you stayed in another room for a minute," I said quietly. "Just until I get him to calm down." As if emphasizing my point, the knocks on the door became louder before an "I know you're in there!" came from outside. Téa nodded and left. I braced myself and opened the door, swallowing as I did so.

I was met with a punch in the face as soon as Yugi recognized me.

"You bastard!" he screeched. "You godforsaken _bastard_!" Waves of pain pulsed through me as I staggered up, holding my jaw.

"Yugi, let me explain-"

"What is there to explain? You married my girlfriend and now she's _pregnant_! She was my _love_!" he shouted. "There's NOTHING to explain!"

"Yugi!" Téa suddenly cried. "Leave him alone!" Yugi turned to her, and at first I was afraid for her from his fierce expression. To my surprise, he fell to his knees before her and looked up at her with a tear-stained face.

"Why are you defending him?" he asked brokenly. "We were great, you and I…" Téa smiled at him, then bit her lip nervously. I could tell that she was going to tell him the truth, and I nodded my encouragement when she glanced at me. "I'm not pregnant with Marik's child," she said hesitatingly. Yugi looked at her with confusion before his eyes dawned in understanding. "I'm pregnant…with yours."

Yugi's face drained of color. He stared at Téa with tear tracks on his face, then got up slowly. Turning away, he moved to leave.

"Stop!" I shouted, running past him and blocking the door. "You don't know what you're missing!"

"I-I can't…" Yugi breathed, looking lost and insecure. "I'm a father…" I understood, and I signaled to the shocked Téa that everything was under control.

"Look, I know how you feel," I declared. Yugi gave me an owlish look. "Okay, not exactly, but you have to understand that leaving the issue would be the worst mistake of your life! I married Téa because I didn't want to see her hurt. You don't want her hurt either, right?" Yugi slowly shook his head, staring at Téa the entire time. "I know there'll be societal pressures and all, but Téa loves you too! It'll all work out; you'll be a great father if you do the one thing most people in your situation wouldn't do: stay."

Of course, it took a lot of pep talks and persuasion on both sides, but eventually Yugi confirmed that he would stay with Téa. As for the societal pressures, he declared that he was planning on bringing her to America, if she'd let him. Not only was Téa enthralled, she expressed her innermost desire to learn how to dance in America. Yugi laughed and nodded. Apparently, his business was going well enough to manage just that.

Unfortunately, now came the hardest part of the entire ordeal: telling our families.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Ryou Bakura<strong>_

I paced back and forth nervously. I'd sent Yugi out there yesterday, but I had yet to see Marik come home. I felt my heart wrench. I eventually couldn't take the fact that Marik wasn't going to be around, and I'd called Yugi to tell him exactly what had passed while he was gone. It was a gamble, because I didn't know how badly Marik was hurt, but it was my last resort. If this failed, then I likely just lost Marik as well. I dearly hoped that he didn't hate me. It was just impossible to carry on this charade any longer.

I missed Marik more than I ever thought I could. It only took his five-month absence to know so. I had found that whenever I thought of the future, I always pictured Marik there with me. When he'd said that he was my self-proclaimed fiancé, I had believed him. I had overestimated the fact that he would be there for me, through thick and thin. I had underestimated the fact that I'd gotten used to him, that I'd slowly found myself expecting to see his face every day, that I loved him more and more as time had gone on. It wasn't fair.

"Mariku!" came a shout from outside. "Ryou! Bakura!" I gave a little jolt before bolting to the door. I yanked it open just as Bakura and Mariku were coming out of their room. Marik's smiling face filled my vision, just like old times, and I tackled him in a hug. Something must have happened. The gods must have looked down on me and smiled. Marik was happy and he was hugging me back! I had missed him so much…

"What's all this about? Where's Téa?" Bakura grumbled. Marik ripped out of my grasp and hugged him as well, making me feel a bit perturbed. He didn't truly miss me in particular, which caused me to be a bit put out. All the same, Bakura's question had a bit of sense in it. When Marik pulled away, happy tears coursed down his cheeks and he laughed.

"You guys may want to sit down while I try to explain," he said, glancing at Mariku in particular. "There's a lot that you've missed."

When Marik was finished telling his tale, I didn't know whether I wanted to punch him or kiss him. Mariku, however, felt guilty of giving Marik the cold shoulder and showered him with hugs and kisses. Bakura looked on him proudly, as if he were his true son. I merely stared at him. When he turned to me, he gave a toothy grin that I despised.

"I really had you fooled, huh, Ryou?" he asked. "You should've known better! I'd never give up on our relationship!" With that, my self-restraint crumbled and I launched myself at him.

"You cruel idiot!" I cried, engulfing him in my arms. "I thought that you were gone for good! Do you have any idea how _worried_ I was? At one point, I thought you hated me!" Marik looked at me, dazed with all the affection. I flushed and pulled back, watching our "fathers" give us surprised looks.

"Wow," Bakura remarked, making us all blush. "Didn't know Ryou was that serious." With a small glare, I proceeded to bury my face into Marik's shoulder. I had my whole family back. There was no reason to be any less affectionate!

* * *

><p><strong>(AN):/** And there's the update! Sorry I've been late...it's been an entire year and I'm still not done with this story! AARGH! I just have GOT to write shorter chapters...

Please tell me what you think!


	16. Plane

**(A/N):/ **This was very...spontaneous. I wanted to make something that kind of reflected Ryou's relationship with his "brothers" as well as Marik's relationship with his family, but also included some angstshipping so that it was entertaining.

What I got was...this.

I have no idea what this is, but I like it enough to show you guys! Please enjoy and review!

* * *

><p>Plane<p>

Ishizu was begging me not to go to Yami Marik's basketball tournament in Japan.

"Are you sure there isn't another way? I just can't have you hanging out with those hooligans! Can't Odion go, as per usual?" she cried. Odion stared at me, expressing his concern in a more silent way.

"Ishizu, Odion, I'm sure," I said for about the fifth time. "I just can't stay here forever! The neighborhood kids are starting to comment on how sheltered I am!" My twin brother, Yami Marik, gave a smirk.

"You guys," he drawled. "He'll be with me, which means that he'll be as safe as possible." Ishizu frowned disapprovingly and Odion rolled his eyes. It would have been comical if it weren't for the fact that this was serious. As my oldest siblings, Odion and Ishizu felt the most reluctant to send me off into the big world. For my entire life, I'd never gone beyond the city lines, and going to an entire other country…

It just spelled trouble.

"Ishizu," I began again, though a bit more unsurely this time. "I want to be an artist when I grow up. How can I be one when I only know one form of art?" Yami Marik smirked at my remark. To him, this was another round of tennis and the ball was volleying back and forth.

"Marik, that's not true. You've been exposed to arts all around the world ever since you were little," Ishizu reprimanded. "If you haven't noticed, my museum and your textbook are chock-full of different arts."

"But those are ancient arts!" I protested. "I was talking to Mana at school and she said that there was an art form in Japan called manga that I haven't even heard about! It's even famous in America!" Ishizu's eyes took a different glint, and I knew I had her. She knew everything about America, and the term "manga" definitely sounded familiar to her.

"Wait, you don't know what 'manga' is?" Yami Marik said incredulously, furthering my case. I shook my head and he gave a small chuckle. Ishizu was in a dangerous spot now. To our surprise, Odion spoke up in my defense.

"It seems that Marik is right, sister," he said. "Young Marik has seen nothing of which he's read about in books. He knows that snow is frozen water, but how do you explain its difference with ice? I believe that we should let him go and get a sort of footing with the world."

"Yeah, and if he gets beat up, I'll kill the guys who did it!" Yami Marik added. Ishizu started to protest when I clapped a hand over Yami Marik's mouth.

"Don't listen to him, he's just stupid," I growled. "The point is that I'm old enough to go to the local college, but once I do I'll never be free. I'll never see the places that I've yearned to go ever since I first heard about them in those stories you always tell me." Ishizu lowered her head, beginning to feel guilty at raising my hopes with said stories only to dash them by saying that I wasn't allowed to go. "I'll always be in the sidelines. If I don't get this chance, Ishizu, I'll…I'll never be free…" there was a pause as we all waited for Ishizu's decision.

"Oh, alright," she sighed. Odion smiled and Yami Marik whooped. I smiled as well, but stopped as her eyes suddenly bore into mine. "Only on a few conditions. One: you call me once, no, _twice_ a day. Two: you don't get a single scratch on you each day you're there. And Three, the _biggest_ one: if you get lost AT ALL, you are coming straight home and will be chained to the house until you die. Got it?"

"But Ishizu-" I began.

"_Got it_?" she repeated. I flinched and nodded, figuring that this was the best deal I was going to get. "Good." With a sigh, she hugged me tightly. I knew that my departure was the toughest on her as she was the most protective out of all of us. Yami Marik and Odion provided a different, often less harsh protection (Yami Marik's threats were often empty; he was usually off on another international tournament whenever my safety was threatened anyway).

"Hey, wait!" Yami Marik pouted. I raised an eyebrow. Ishizu had already consented! Why was he causing even more delay when I could be packing? Curiosity forced me to stop and wait before I headed to my room. "Why don't you give him the talk you always give me? Y'know, the one about never falling in love…" Ishizu's eyes brightened and my heart plummeted. I knew perfectly well what the talk was, even though Odion and Yami Marik were usually the ones who received it.

"That's right! Marik," she snapped, glaring at me as if I was an enemy. I was intimidated slightly, but I knew that she glared like that at anyone when she had the talk. "You are to stay away from any and all sorts of men while at your excursion." I flushed. She knew my sexuality very well, and she also knew the connotations. In my village, sexuality of this sort was not only unwelcome, but also punished. Odion, Yami Marik and I were not allowed, in any circumstances, to discuss my sexuality freely for fear someone would hear. The fact that Ishizu even mentioned my preferences meant that it was a big deal, so I listened attentively.

"You aren't allowed to fall in love because you'll have to return here and leave your loved one behind," she said sternly, and I immediately understood. Ishizu had fallen for a rich man named Kaiba and nearly eloped with him when he'd suddenly turned his back on her and broke her heart. She'd rebuked herself for even thinking of making such a decision as to elope with him and had lived a single life ever since then. What I didn't need to mention was that Kaiba also lived a single life. He'd been trying to contact her through Yami Marik and Odion for the longest time, only resulting in rejection. Ishizu was a proud woman to ever stoop so low again, and Kaiba was just a little less proud. I still thought that they made an ideal couple, but I knew that if I voiced this, my chances for actually leaving would narrow into nothingness. I paid attention as she lamented over the perils of a broken heart, keeping in mind that even if I were to fall in love, there was an extremely low chance that the man would love me back. Being gay, after all, didn't apply to most of the population of the world.

As Ishizu continued to talk, I realized what a big hold Kaiba had in our family. Ishizu's museum brought about a modest income, but most of our money came from Yami Marik's exceptional basketball skills (a sport that he'd picked up from Kaiba when Kaiba and Ishizu had still been dating), which Kaiba showcased in his annual sports championship around the world. Kaiba's team held Yami Marik as the star player, earning him fame and thus, even more money. Yami Marik won every game he was assigned with determination for us…as well as Kaiba. He'd confessed this to me out of Ishizu's earshot, and he further stated that Kaiba was really eager to meet me as well in order to strengthen his connection to Ishizu. I really wanted to meet him as well. I didn't know whether to trust Ishizu's judgment about Kaiba's heartbreaking tendencies or meet the man for himself and see how he actually acted.

"…And so, promise me that you won't, under any circumstances, fall in love," Ishizu finished. I'd tuned in just in time to nod my head in submission.

"Alright, sis," I said with fake seriousness that no one could catch. The real reason I was going on this trip was to see Kaiba for myself, not to fall in love and have a one-night stand with someone I hardly knew. Watching Yami Marik flaunt his hard-earned skills was just a bonus. Speaking of whom, Yami Marik smirked with satisfaction as Ishizu returned my nod and gave me another backbreaking hug.

"Just be safe. That's the bottom line," she chided. "You're my baby brother; the one that's not nuts." Of course, Yami Marik's ears perked at that.

"Hey!"

* * *

><p>The airport was far more crowded than I'd imagined. It was late, extremely late, but I was too frightened to actually register that. While Yami Marik stifled a yawn next to me, I watched with fear as seas, <em>seas<em> of people swarmed from one terminal to the next on the busy international airport. My jittery steps only served to piss Yami Marik off.

"Hey, stop that right now before I dump you here," he growled. I stopped shifting from one foot to the other but instead shook like a leaf. I hadn't known that the airport would be so…so _crowded_. There were more people here than I had ever seen in my entire _life_! "Seriously, Marik, if you don't stop right now…" Yami Marik snapped. I looked at him with a slightly crazed expression.

"Is the entire world here?" I asked incredulously. "There's…there's so many people." Yami Marik rolled his eyes, giving me a full view of the dark circles underneath.

"Shut the fuck up. Of course the whole world's not here! My basketball games have a whole shitload of people, and _this_ is nothing compared to _that_," he replied irritably. I nodded, deciding not to push the matter. He grabbed my hand and dragged me to where our terminal was. Along the way, I couldn't stop shaking. Yami Marik nearly snapped my wrist in anger, but managed to contain himself. Instead, he threw me another sneer before tossing his head with irritation.

It had happened way too suddenly. One minute I was watching all the people with incredible trepidation and the next, I was on the floor with a smarting ass and a man with a red robe, blue skirt, and no shirt on top of me.

"Wha-" I asked before he got up and brushed himself off.

"Get outta my way!" he snarled in furious Arabic. "I'm trying to get to my brothers!" I nodded to placate, incredibly frightened, when Yami Marik suddenly knocked the man over and sent him sprawling on the floor again.

"Don't you _dare_ talk to my brother like that!" he roared. "Who the fuck do you think you are?" Oh no, I thought to myself. An exhausted Yami Marik with an already annoyed demeanor couldn't mean anything good…

"Yami Marik, stop!" I shouted. He didn't listen. I began to hyperventilate when people started to surround us. I was, needless to say, overwhelmed. Before this entire mess, I hadn't even known so many people could _exist_! Now, however, I was swarmed…

"What's going on? Why are they fighting?" the men and women asked. I cringed from them, intimidated by their sheer number. I tried to explain, but my throat caught. I wanted to run instinctively to Yami Marik, the only familiar face I could find, but he was too busy with the brawling devil. I found myself slowly curling up and withdrawing from the world when, suddenly, I felt a surge of anger run through me. What gave _him _the right to ignore me and fight the idiot? I was still hurt, and hurting the other man was just a stupid waste of time!

"STOP IT RIGHT NOW!" I yelled. The two men didn't listen, but I wasn't going to take their shit. I grabbed Yami Marik's cuff and yanked him off with inhuman strength. He looked at me, furious, but I didn't bother with him. Instead, I aimed a perfectly good kick at the other man's groin. He gave a yowl and curled up, his shocking white hair covering his, as I just realized, scarred face. "You deserve that for knocking me over and then having the fucking balls to tell me to get out of _your _way! Get out of _my_ way, you jerk!" The man merely growled and shuffled away, mumbling under his breath.

"Marik," Yami Marik began angrily.

"Shut up and get some coffee, Yami Marik," I said tiredly. "We're going to have to leave in four hours. I don't want another episode like that again, otherwise I'll tell Ishizu and you won't be able to go to this game." Yami Marik gave me a shove that knocked me against a wall before heading to the coffee stand. I didn't bother to move and only slid down the wall. I hated this idea already. Why didn't I just go with Ishizu on one of her business trips instead?

* * *

><p>I scoured through the magazines in a nearby gift shop, reading every article about Japan and fantasizing about visiting the many famous places. Not many people were in this gift shop, strangely, so I felt calm and collected, if not eager. My excitement was returning as I glanced up from my current magazine, looking for another one.<p>

I nearly fell back in shock when a man entered the room. His white, unruly hair was groomed into a soft fluffiness, immediately reminding me of the guy my brother had beaten up. I stiffened and paled, all my happiness deserting me. Quickly, I turned and focused on the magazine in my hands, struggling to cover my face and hoping to be overlooked. The fact that I kicked a similar guy in the groin only spelled trouble for me, especially if I had such luck with all the white-haired young people in this airport…

"Hey! Hey, you!" the man called with a childish English accent. "C-could you read this article to me?"

He didn't pose much of a threat, so instead of answering immediately, I focused on the differences between him and the other white-haired man. He was wearing a T-shirt and jeans that both seemed to be on the lighter side of the color spectrum. He was definitely not as flamboyantly dressed compared to the robed figure. The other man was far more muscular and strong, whereas this one was leaner and significantly more childish. Additionally, the other white-haired man was tanned whereas this one was as pale as could be, possibly paler under my scrutiny. There was no scar on his face, but a sort of happy aura surrounded him; a happy aura that gave off a faint trace of sadness. There was something innocent about this boy. His wide, brown eyes were far more harmless than the pale purple of the other man's.

That pale purple had reminded me of the childhood fright stories Ishizu told me about when I was small, where the kidnapper only had to look at a child to kill them. I shivered.

"U-um…" the boy stuttered. "Are you alright?" I nodded, then cursed myself inwardly. I'd just revealed that I could understand English…

Apparently the boy understood my capability as well. I frowned, regretting the endless lessons Ishizu and Yami Marik had forced upon me due to their infatuation with America. I'd perfected my English in my spare time, and even read up on colloquial catchphrases just to "blend in." This boy, however, spoke from a British background. I began to turn away when he suddenly grasped my shoulder.

"W-Wait!" he cried. "Read this article to me, please!" I turned to give him an incredulous look. "You can read, can't you?" he said once I'd exposed my face. I looked down at the article, realizing that it was about America. Why was this British kid interested in America? Well, I wasn't one to judge. After all, I was an Egyptian who was well versed in the American culture due to my siblings. I'm sure he had relatives there or something.

So I read. The article described, in detail, the history of some important landmarks. I read the article with rapture, admiring the way the writer took command of the words and allowed it to beautifully flow down the page. When I was done, I looked up reluctantly. The man seemed to be in a daze. His eyes were on me, but he wasn't truly _looking_ at me. I shrunk slightly at his gaze, but then he seemingly snapped out of it and regarded me with surprise.

"You're really good at speaking English!" he chirped. "You…you might even be able to help me!" I gave him a stricken look. I didn't even know the man's name! He even reminded me of a person who'd just slammed into me and nearly caused an all-out war against my brother! There was no _way_ I was helping him! Heedless of my inner turmoil, the man went on, innocent eyes blinking excitedly. "I've lost my brothers in this airport while we were headed to the terminal for America. Their names are Thief and Bakura." I began shaking my head, and he rushed to finish. "Only one of us knows Arabic! Please, you must help us!"

"No!" I blurted. My mind raced as I considered the possibility of one of his brothers being the man who caused so much conflict with my brother. "I'm sorry…I can't." I made my way out, but the man suddenly blocked my path with tears of desperation trailing down his cheeks.

"I don't know any Arabic!" he all but screamed. "There's no one else who can help me! At least let me follow you!" He grasped my jacket, staring into my eyes. I recognized the fear in them. Suddenly, I couldn't say no.

"Fine…" I sighed. "Follow me. I have to meet up with my brother." The man gave a dazzling smile and stepped back to extend his arm. Taking my hand earnestly, he shook it. I recognized the custom from Ishizu's lessons and I reciprocated the gesture.

"I promise that I'll make it worth your while!" the man exclaimed. "My name's Ryou, by the way."

"Marik," I replied reluctantly. Not knowing what to say next, I made my way out of the gift shop and kept an eye out for Ryou. He suddenly took my hand in his, causing me to flush. Would he have done the same thing if he knew that I was a homosexual? Was he gay himself? I shook my head of these thoughts, reminding myself of Ishizu's warning. I couldn't break my promise when I hadn't even left the country yet!

I looked for Yami Marik, but he was nowhere to be found. To my right, Ryou looked around for his brothers. I dearly hoped that I wouldn't have to meet them without Yami Marik at my side. When I saw a flash of white hair to my left, in a direction opposite to Ryou's searching stares, I knew that luck wasn't on my side.

I was faced with two choices: wait until Yami Marik came to find me, or go after the other white-haired menace before he got away. With an aggravated sigh, I dragged Ryou's arm in the direction of the pale phantom. He squealed, _squealed_, before babbling over whether I found my brother or one of his brothers.

"I think it's _your_ brother," I replied, a bit miffed. "Though, if he beats me up, I'll make sure that I never, _ever_ cross paths with you again." Ryou looked at me confusedly. When his eyes dawned with understanding, he gave a large frown.

"What did he look like? The man that hurt you?" he asked lowly. I was surprised at his threatening tone, but brushed it off.

"He was tan, had white hair, and was wearing this red robe…" I said hurriedly, catching up to the white blob that was leaving at a rather steady pace. Ryou's hand clenched around my own in fury.

"Thief," he growled. "And you're still helping me, even after his abuse." I shrugged.

"Look, we can keep this discussion for another time. Your brother is right…there," I said, pointing to where the brother had sat down in a bench. I knew that he was Ryou's brother from the moment I saw his face. The only difference between them was the fact that he was slightly more vile-looking, with two pieces of hair pointing upwards in a way that resembled a demon's horns.

"Bakura!" Ryou cried happily. To my surprise, instead of letting go of my hand, Ryou dragged us both along. I was forced to join a group hug with someone I'd never met.

"Hello Ryou," Bakura said amusedly. "Is this your newest crush?" I had no idea what he meant by "crush", but Ryou turned a bright red.

"Big brother! Please don't embarrass me in front of our guide!" he wailed. "Where were you? I was waiting at the gate to our flight to America for _ages_!" Bakura raised an eyebrow as he completely ignored Ryou's question and appraised me. Or, more specifically, the jewelry I was wearing.

"Interesting pick, Ryou," he drawled. "So, this is our guide? I assume he's going to help us find Thief?" I flinched just as Ryou's hand tightened around mine again.

"I say we should just leave him here. He hurt Marik," Ryou snapped. "I also don't want to force Marik into looking for someone he despises. It's just not fair." I looked away, embarrassed. I managed to scout out a puffball of blond that could only belong to Yami Marik. With a sudden rush of relief, I released Ryou's hand and pulled out of his grasp. Ryou looked at me with surprise.

"I have to go. I found my brother," I said hurriedly before dashing off.

"Wait!" I heard behind me. I didn't bother to stop. When I reached Yami Marik, I hugged him tightly. He hugged back with a ferocity that only occurred if he was worried. _Extremely_ worried.

"Why weren't you at the bench when I left for coffee?" he growled. I ducked my head, riddled with guilt.

"I saw another white-haired man. He was the brother of the one you met," I confessed. Yami sighed and rubbed his temples.

"I get nervous, Marik. You could've died out there, you know?" he said exasperatedly. I nodded, and he wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "Well, I guess we're even. You didn't listen to me, but I also pushed you." We smiled at each other, coming to an understanding. Suddenly, a shadow appeared over us, and we met our gazes with none other than Thief, the last brother as well as the last person I wanted to see.

"What the hell do you want, rat?" Yami growled. Thief looked over at us and sighed.

"I can't find my brothers. I've searched everywhere, and I've asked everyone," he sighed. I stared at him skeptically. More likely than not, people were too afraid of him to actually help him. Ryou and Bakura weren't that hard to spot. "Have you seen them?" Thief concluded.

"No, we haven't," Yami Marik said sharply. "Beat it." I poked Yami Marik on the side at his rudeness, but he gave no response. Thief looked at the two of us, then narrowed his eyes on me.

"He knows something," he said sharply. "Tell me where my brothers are."

"He doesn't have to if he doesn't want to," Yami retorted. I was about to agree with Yami Marik's sentiment, but then I remembered Ryou's worried face. For some reason, the face came to me in high detail. Ryou's brows were creased slightly at the middle, his bottom lip was suffering abuse from his teeth, and his pale hands were wringing up and down with worry. That face was the one thing that convinced me to help my most recent enemy.

"Look, I know that being lost isn't fun, so I'm going to tell you where your brothers are and _you_-" I pointed at Yami Marik "-can't tell me whether I want to do it or not. Got it?" It was like breaking a fight between Ishizu and Yami Marik. Wordlessly, I got up and made a beeline to where I last saw the two brothers. When I turned to glance at my brother and his adversary, I saw that they were following while shooting glares at each other the entire time. I rolled my eyes, feeling relief when I saw the two other brothers right where I had left them. Ryou got up and grinned at me for returning. His stunning smile turned into a frown when he saw Thief.

"Thief!" he shouted. Without hesitation, he strode up to the man and smartly slapped his cheek. "You idiot! How could you hurt Marik? And he helped us find each other as well! Now we have to repay him threefold!" I protested, but Bakura gave a devilish grin and held up a hand.

"I think I know how you can repay him," he said suavely. I felt my eyes widen. Nothing good can come with this…

"How?" Ryou said earnestly. I wondered if I was imagining the flush on his cheeks. "I'll do anything to make Marik happy! Just name your price!" I began to raise my voice again, but my thoughts came to a screeching halt at Bakura's next sentence.

"Kiss him," he said with a snarky grin on his face. I felt my face grow red alongside Ryou's. Yami Marik's face stretched into a one of horrific rage just as Thief shrugged and began to lean forward.

"N-no!" Ryou cried, pulling Thief back. "I think…he meant me!" I felt my face turn even redder. I didn't want my first kiss to be taken! I hardly knew who this guy even was! Yami Marik moved to protest, but suddenly Thief wrestled him to the ground and cupped his mouth. Ryou leaned forward and touched my cheek. He tilted his head slightly before meeting his mouth with mine. It was a light peck, but when he pulled away I heard Ishizu's voice ringing in my ears and my heart thumping incredibly fast. I turned and was about to walk straight away when Ryou yanked me back.

"That was only the _first_ kiss," he laughed. "You found my _three_ brothers." I clenched my fists and glared at him.

"I'm not kissing any more people!" I cried. "I'm not some…some dirty individual who likes to kiss every person he helps!" Bakura growled while looking at Thief and Yami Marik wrestling, as it was probably spoiling his fun.

"Could you let the man go?" he asked Thief. "The boy won't interrupt. His brother's certainly not protesting." Thief grunted and reluctantly let go, making Ryou glare at him. Bakura saw that glare and smirked. "Ryou, you can have two more kisses," he stated. "But make it a true kiss; not some small peck. You're representing _me_ now, and I won't hesitate to take the kiss back if you don't live up to it."

"I h-hardly think this is the appropriate award for someone who helped us…" he murmured, staring at me. I understood his hesitation immediately. I hadn't yet consented to the exchange. For all he knew, I was a straight man who was only operating under his brother's orders.

"I wouldn't…mind," I said softly in English. Ryou's eyes brightened and a tentative grin stretched across his face. He leaned in and kissed me soundly, grasping the back of my head. I kissed back firmly and became embarrassed by the resounding "smack" that was heard when we pulled apart. Ryou was exhilarated and I only heard a bit of Ishizu's voice reprimanding me in my happiness. Yami Marik made a disgusted noise, but true to Bakura's claim, he merely waited for this to end. Thief decided to chip in as well.

"Okay, mine has to be _way_ less innocent!" he laughed. "Ryou, french the boy." Ryou's eyes grew wide and he snarled at Thief. I didn't know what "french" meant as a verb, only knowing it as an adjective describing things from France. I got my answer, however, when Thief suddenly threatened to "french" me and Ryou clenched his teeth, pulled me in, and sealed his lips onto mine once more.

It was…awkward at first. Ryou positively ravaged my mouth and I was too surprised to respond. His hands were grasping my shoulders too tightly and his tongue, his tongue, was pushing against my lips in a way that seemed, as Thief had said, much less innocent as far as normal kisses go. Bakura chuckled and poked me on my back.

"Open your mouth, Marik," he cackled. I had no choice, as I had to breathe. His tongue entered my mouth and I made a silent noise of surprise before Bakura gave me some more helpful advice.

"Re_lax_," he drawled. "Let yourself go and enjoy." I stiffened a bit before letting my muscles relax. Ryou slipped his arms around my waist and pushed forward. The entire process felt _weird_. I couldn't get around how terribly odd it was. When Ryou started to rub my back, though, I decided to pitch in and enjoy. Thief let out a small "whoop!" as I "frenched" back while Yami Marik gagged.

"Oh gods, let's just get this over with so I can unsee what just happened," he choked. We pulled away from each other when we needed air, but Ryou was grinning.

"So, stranger," he gasped. "Care to meet again?" I felt my euphoria trample to the ground. I was going to Japan, whereas Ryou…

"I have an extra ticket to America," Thief suddenly said. "Ryou hasn't looked _this_ happy since he first learned how to walk. I think you should come with us."

"No," I said softly. "I'm sorry. I can't." Ishizu's words were echoing even louder in my head. Yami Marik planted a hand on my shoulder.

"Don't even think about it, you guys," he snapped. "We're leaving right now!" I looked at him thankfully, and we turned to leave.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Thief growled in Arabic. "First you hate our family, now you've made my brother happy, and then you decide to leave?" Yami Marik sighed and glared at him, eye-to-eye.

"I don't want him to become like my sister," he said. "She loves Seto Kaiba of KaibaCorp, but he hurt her and now she keeps her duty as our older sister and her honor as the museum manager instead of accepting his apologies. I don't want him to end up brokenhearted."

"But-" Ryou began.

"No buts. I…I have to go," I said sadly. "I'm very hard to sway, so you can't convince me." Ryou nodded sadly, and Bakura gave an angry huff. Thief, however, had a large smile on his face that threatened me with something, though I didn't know what it could be as we walked away from each other.

When we finally reached our gate, Yami Marik bought me a muffin and I snacked on it while occasionally thinking about my kisses. He began ranging about how people were so indecent, but I knew athat all I wanted to feel was Ryou's lips on mine once more. It seemed that he'd had a large effect on me. I couldn't stop thinking about him; how he looked, how he acted, how he smelled…

All of a sudden, a siren went off.

"What the hell?" Yami Marik grumbled. I turned left and right wildly.

"What is it?" I asked, completely lost.

"Evacuate the premises!" a female voice roared from the loudspeaker. "The airport is under attack. Evacuate the premises!" I freaked out slightly as Yami Marik growled.

"Our plane is right there!" he roared. "We'll be able to evacuate easily, just wait."

All of a sudden, a fist came out of nowhere and promptly knocked my brother out.

"YAMI MARIK!" I screamed as someone hauled me up and held a gun to my head.

"Quiet, girl!" the man roared in a hoarse voice. "Or I'll shoot ya!" I shut my mouth. This was it. I was going to die. I was going to die because someone decided that they would maul the airport, out of all places.

I saw a flash of white, and suddenly the gun was knocked out of the man's hand with inhuman speed. Someone grabbed me in their arms, and I got a glimpse of Ryou's innocent pale face smiling at me before Bakura suddenly threw a kick at the man. Thief cackled as he suddenly grabbed me and hoisted me over his shoulder.

"What are you doing?" I screeched as he ran away from my terminal. His brothers tied the man up and left him for the police as they ran after us. "Let me go!"

"You're coming to America, kid!" Thief cackled as Ryou tied my flailing arms with a sweet smile. "Trust me. You're gonna love it!"

I fainted just as we dashed through the airport gate.

* * *

><p><strong>(AN):/ **Don't worry. I'm just as lost as you are. Updates will be quicker, I promise!


	17. Quest

**(A/N:)/ **Okay, so this one has a bit of research done mostly in part of a dinky little book that I have about the gods and goddesses of Greek mythology. Don't expect some extravagant, in-depth analysis...but this is a bit different from the other oneshots.

And you know what? It's alright if you guys don't want to review :). At first I was looking forward to reviews because I wanted to see if I could improve, but it's fine. I'm just happy that people are looking and favoriting!

* * *

><p>Quest<p>

_Once upon a time, long, long ago, there was a god by the name of Cronos. He had usurped Oranos as the king of gods with a hostile takeover, and had married Rhea, his sister. Prophesied to become usurped himself, Cronos ate all his children until Rhea cleverly hid Zeus. The prophecy was then fulfilled when Zeus returned to kill his father. The gods became free and Zeus was chosen as their leader._

_ Many years passed, and many more gods were born. After centuries, the gods were no longer revered by an empire, and instead, their legends became myths to all those in the modern age._

_ Or so they thought…_

* * *

><p>"Ryou, it's a nice day out," Yugi chirped. He was always such a ball of energy that it sometimes made Ryou sicker than he already was. "Do you want to duel? I got a whole new deck and I haven't even <em>seen<em> some of the cards in it!" Ryou rolled his eyes on the other line.

"No thank you, Yugi," he said politely into the phone. "You'll win again. I know it." Yugi only laughed.

"You never know!" he said happily, ignoring what Ryou had _just said_. "Maybe today's the day!" Ryou ignored him and mumbled some excuse about being sick before he slammed the phone into its cradle and fell onto his bed. Yugi's energy was, frankly, just too much for him. He preferred the darkness and the occult to the brightness and energy Yugi exhibited. Despite being friends with Ryou for years, Yugi remained oblivious to his interests and called him outside whenever the sun shone.

Ryou groaned as he turned on his radio and fell asleep to the smooth sounds that came out of the station. He wasn't usually that much of a fan of jazz music, but lately he'd been feeling darker and moodier, not really feeling up for angry or even fast-paced songs. He blamed it on the weather, though he knew at the back of his mind that the weather in Domino was relatively consistent from year to year. After an hour of sleeping, a sudden burst of static caused Ryou's eyes to fly open.

"We interrupt this station to bring you an alarming report!" an abrupt voice shouted into the radio. Ryou sat straight up in surprise and glared at the radio with contempt for waking him up. "There has been another major earthquake in Greece. The tremors are slowly making their way around the world, and even North America can feel its slight trembling!" Ryou stared at the radio with surprise. Another earthquake? What exactly was going on?

The earthquakes had started up just three months ago. Everyone had been in an uproar about the end of the world on that date, and Ryou had found it unnecessary and a bit disruptive. He was proven false when, to the dismay of many, a large earthquake hit Greece and was proven to be off the Richter scale. People had been devastated, as Italy and the surrounding countries had undergone tremendous impact. Only a year later, another earthquake surrounded the area on a much wider scale. Europe and northern Africa were quickly demolished. Today, two months after that devastation, the earthquake had reached most of Africa and had barely grazed the eastern countries. Many had died. The rest of the world simply awaited their turn.

Ryou frowned, turning off the radio and falling onto his bed. He didn't know what was causing these earthquakes, but somehow, he felt involved. Every time, there was a tug at his heart when another earthquake occurred. It was fear, coursing through him like ten million volts. It wasn't the fear that he would be next. It was the fear that he would have to confront this phenomenon and reverse its effects eventually. His phone rang again, but at a different chime, interrupting his thoughts. With a grimace, Ryou lifted the phone to his ear and awaited the sound of Téa's voice.

"Ryou!" she cried. "H-help! Something's wrong!" The desperation in her voice startled Ryou out of his bed.

"What? What's going on?" he asked. Téa sobbed before answering.

"I'm sinking!" she replied. "I was just walking over to the park, but I fell into this hole that appeared out of nowhere and…oh Ryou! You've got to help! Yugi's n-not answering his phone and I'm so scared…"

"Hang on, I'm coming!" Ryou exclaimed before dashing out of his house. He knew where Téa would be due to the fact that she was probably going to the park from her house. He didn't pay any mind to the fact that his pajamas were causing some people to give him disapproving looks. His friend was in danger, there was no time to worry about what other people were thinking! With this in mind, Ryou dashed on and failed to notice how the looks people gave him turned into those of horror. He ignored the screams of "Stop!" and "Hold it!", focusing only on the fact that his friend was in danger and that he needed to save her.

Before long, Ryou had reached Téa. She took one look at him and screamed.

"Ryou! Not you too!" she cried. Ryou gave her a confused look before looking down at his feet and noticing a gaping hole that was just beginning to suck him into its depths.

"What?" he shouted, trying to get himself free. The hole only grew wider until it morphed with Téa's as well, causing both of them to fall to their dooms. People around them screamed, but after all that, all Ryou heard was silence.

* * *

><p>"Your new forms…they are quite ridiculous," a dark chuckle sounded from the depths of Ryou's brain. Ryou tried to open his eyes, but found that he couldn't. A deep hatred began in his heart as the voice chuckled on. "Honestly, Zeus, you cannot play your trickery now! I may only have you in a temporary vice, but soon, when I arise…you'll all be sorry." Ryou knew that the voice was not directed at only him, but for some reason, he couldn't turn his head or speak to figure out who else was there with him. He just felt a deep-seated hatred for whoever was speaking, a hatred that could not be healed no matter how much time elapsed.<p>

"Now go," the voice laughed. "Go and live your meaningless lives. You have completely forgotten your powers, and in five weeks, that will be your downfall…" The last word echoed as Ryou felt himself rise higher than was comfortable. He felt his body undergo painful twists and turns until he found himself on the pavement, being positively baked by the sun. He immediately scrambled up, hissing at the bruised skin from his fall, and looked around. He was at the place where the hole had been, and many people surrounded him and the newly-recovered Téa.

"Are you kids okay?" someone asked. A bunch of similar questions were fired his way, and Ryou suddenly remembered why he hated the outside world.

"We're fine!" he said politely, though rage boiled in him at the people's audacity. "We just need to visit my friend, and quickly!" Standing up, he grabbed the disoriented Téa's arm and dashed for the park. Téa eventually caught on and ran with him, biting her lip with worry.

"Yugi! Are you alright?" she cried when a fallen Yugi came into sight. Yugi groaned and clutched his head. Ryou felt a prick of annoyance at the sight of him acting so…so dramatic, but it was quickly erased when he realized that Yugi could be seriously hurt.

"Téa? Ryou?" Yugi asked faintly. "I think I fell off a tree…" Téa gasped and checked for injuries while Ryou looked around.

"I don't think you fell off a tree," he said slowly. "Is there any chance that you fell into a hole?" Yugi's eyes widened and he stared at Ryou.

"How…how did you know?" he spluttered. Ryou clenched his teeth.

"An idiot stuffed Téa and me down a hole as well. I don't think we were the only ones, either," he explained. "He said something about 'Zeus,' but I don't know who he was talking to when he said it."

"He was talking to me," Yugi confirmed, pale-faced. "Téa, did you hear it, too?"

"Yeah…what does it all mean?" she asked, somewhat frightened. Yugi furrowed his brows and clenched his fists.

"I don't know, but we have to check on our other friends to make sure that they're not hurt!" he determined. "Let's go to the arcade. Tristan and Joey are bound to be there!"

"I think we should split up," Ryou suggested. Téa nodded.

"He's right. I'll head to the school. Rebecca and Mai are probably there," she said.

"And I'll go to the museum," Ryou said. He flushed somewhat as Yugi and Téa shot him knowing looks. "Look, I'll stay on task. Just go find the others!" Yugi and Téa nodded slowly before going their separate ways. Ryou sighed. He understood that he was a bit…obsessed with the museum's youngest worker, but how could he not be? Marik was so animated and life-giving that it attracted Ryou like the moon. He bit his lip so that the pain could distract him from the flush that was painting his cheeks as he approached the museum. Luckily for him, Téa, and Yugi, Domino was not that big of a city and it was relatively easy to navigate to where you needed to go.

"Marik? Ishizu?" Ryou called when he got into the museum, expecting the owners to be at the lobby as they usually were. The guests looked at him as if he was crazy for wearing pajamas at such a respected establishment, but he was used to their looks by now. He made his way through the floors, noting that there wasn't any commotion regarding random holes and unconscious people.

The fifth floor brought him luck. There was a bunch of people huddled around two people who were groaning and clutching at their heads. Ryou dashed over to them and roughly pushed people out of the way to get to them.

"Hey, are you guys alright?" he asked uncertainly, kneeling down and placing an arm at Marik's back.

"Ryou?" Marik groaned. "Ugh, as if this day can't get any worse…"

"Marik!" Ishizu managed to snap even through her foggy mind. "Be nice!" Ryou smiled at her, but otherwise brushed off Marik's rejection. It was annoying, but not unbearable. He was used to it.

"Did you guys fall through a black hole and hear something about 'Zeus?'" Ryou asked hurriedly, still keeping an arm on Marik's back and secretly relishing the contact. Ishizu gave him an alarmed look.

"What do you mean, Ryou? Did I speak in my sleep?" she asked. Marik turned to her, wide-eyed.

"What do _you_ mean? I thought that I was the only one who dreamed that!" he exclaimed. "Oh god, the world has gone crazy." Ryou shook his head.

"Something weird just happened. Just after the earthquake in Greece occurred, we all fell into these holes. I think the whole Zeus thing has something to do with Yugi," Ryou explained. "Right now, we're trying to round everyone up. The guy said something about five weeks, right? I think we need to do something by then, but I don't know what." Ishizu nodded.

"I vaguely recall something like that, but I don't know what it was for sure. I was too disoriented by the darkness," she said. "I'll call Kaiba and Joey. I hope they're not…well…doing their favorite pastime," she said with a disgusted face. Marik seemed to forget his bad energies as he laughed.

"I wouldn't be too sure, sis," he taunted. "Kaiba always goes for Joey when Mokuba's at school." Ryou chuckled with him, making Marik remember that he was there and forcing him to scowl once more. "Alright, you've gotten your 'feel Marik up' minute for the day. Now can you kindly get off?" Ryou frowned and stood up. He graciously offered Ishizu a hand up, but avoided eye-contact with Marik who was still sitting on the floor, disoriented. After a few moments, however, he bit his lip and struck a hand towards Marik. Marik sighed and took it.

"Thanks," he grumbled.

"You're welcome," Ryou answered gruffly. He spoke to everyone in this manner, but inwardly, he was delighted. "Let's check up on Yugi and the others."

"Humph," Marik replied, but he followed the other. "Yeah, let's just go." Ryou inwardly cheered. Only friends such as Yugi and Téa ever saw through his gloomy demeanor, and they would be able to tell in an instant that Ryou was on cloud nine. Ever since he saw Marik picking flowers for his brother, Ryou had wanted him. He'd seen him from the depths of his room and always watched him whenever he came out. Téa and Yugi found this practice creepy, and it was. But they couldn't do anything about it, really, as Marik didn't even know that he was being watched. Téa managed to pursue a romantic view and say that Ryou was "watching over Marik." Yugi, however, was far too convinced that Ryou was just creepy. Maybe that's why he constantly asked Ryou to come outside…

At any rate, the two boys found Yugi and Tristan outside of the arcade. They both wrinkled their noses at the fact that Joey wasn't there, knowing what he was most likely doing instead.

"Hey, guys!" Yugi exclaimed. "Tristan fell through a hole, too! He also heard everything!"

"Something's going on," Ryou muttered, thinking to himself. Greece, Zeus, and the familiar voice…all those things seemed to have something in common. Ryou growled and clenched his fists. "It's on the tip of my tongue! I know that there's something in common with all the events that happened!" he mumbled. Tristan cleared his throat.

"Maybe it has something to do with the Greek gods?" he said tentatively. "Our teacher was talking about it." Yugi beamed.

"That's right!" he said triumphantly. "That makes so much sense!"

"Okay, so it's about the Greek gods," Marik muttered. "Where does that leave us?"

"We might as well figure out what Greek gods we are," Ryou muttered, looking in the direction they'd come from. "Judging by the way Yugi feels about Téa, despite the fact that he allows Rebecca and Vivian to fawn all over him, Téa's Hera."

"Wh-what?" Yugi shouted, flushing. "I don't like Téa!" His friends utterly ignored him as they continued thinking.

"I'd say that Ishizu is more like Demeter," Marik announced. "She's so flighty." Ryou rolled his eyes.

"That's because she's a warrior at heart," he explained. "She's probably one of the toughest people I know, guys included. I'd say that she's Athena." Tristan and Yugi nodded while Marik scowled at him. Before he could utter a retort, however, Téa breathlessly approached with Rebecca and Mai at her heels.

"You guys! It happened to Mai, too! Rebecca saw it all!" she cried. Rebecca looked utterly intrigued while Mai looked worried.

"Is this another one of your 'group eccentrics?'" she asked cautiously. "I felt like I was sexy, but annoyed at the fact that my hotness wasn't visible in the darkness. Seriously, I felt like I was the most vain person on earth." The four boys stared blankly at her.

"Aphrodite," they said simultaneously.

"Wha-! Hermaphrodite?" Mai cried indignantly, raising her hand to slap the group, starting with Marik.

"No! We meant that you represent Aphrodite, the Greek goddess!" Marik wailed. "Don't kill me!" Mai looked at him confusedly.

"Wait, isn't she the goddess of love? What's all this about?" she huffed. Yugi sighed and briefed the girls on the entire story. Rebecca pushed up her glasses triumphantly.

"It's a good thing that my current major is the Olympic myths!" she chirped. "You guys are correct so far, so I'll fill in the blanks based on your love interests and your personas. Ryou's _obviously_ Hades," she said in an annoying drawl.

"What makes you say that?" Yugi pondered as everyone else nodded their heads in understanding. Ryou glared at him.

"I like to stay indoors all day and I'm fascinated by the occult!" he snapped. "I don't believe in the Greek gods; I just want to solve this puzzle so I can practice being Wiccan once more." Rebecca rolled her eyes.

"This isn't a matter of religious preference. It's a situation in which we have to figure out how to stop the incessant and progressive attacks on the globe!" she snarled. "Also, judging by your attraction to Marik, I'd say that Marik was Persephone."

"I knew it!" Téa suddenly exclaimed. "I knew Marik was gay! A guy can only pick so many flowers 'for his sister' before his sexuality becomes suspicious!" Marik flushed and stared at Téa with anger.

"Look, it doesn't work out! I hate Ryou! I'd never be his wife, of all things!" he shouted. Ryou drooped a bit, but Rebecca sighed.

"It doesn't matter. You _should_ love him because he wasn't a complete cheater," she snapped. "Hades is the best husband to have, compared to Zeus-" she pointed at Yugi, "-and Poseidon, who I think is Mako." The entire group groaned.

"Does that mean that we have to go to the coast and fish him up for the sake of this mission?" Tristan moaned. "He's so far away."

"It shouldn't be too far for you, Mr. Motorcycle," Mai taunted. "You use your motorcycle to get everywhere. Valon and his gang use theirs only sparingly and Marik hardly uses it at all, but you use it everywhere you go!"

"Hermes!" Rebecca said happily. "You're Hermes! Wow, either this is a very elaborate prank, or someone really has us down to the last detail. At any rate, you should go and get Mako before something else happens." Tristan nodded and drove off on his motorcycle, going at speeds unimaginable while also keeping tabs on local police cars. The sound of helicopters approached moments after he left, causing the remaining teens to duck inside the arcade. Joey's speech came coursing out in panicked gasps as he and Kaiba landed, their clothes only a bit rumpled from the wind force of the helicopter, as well as other activities.

"You guys, are you alright?" Joey asked incessantly. Kaiba stared at Marik, realizing that he was okay before moving on to glare at Ryou.

"Explain," he said curtly. "I know that you have something to do with the black hole that sucked everyone downwards, what with your witchcraft and whatnot. Ishizu filled us in."

"Actually, this has more to do with the Greek gods," Ryou hissed. Kaiba had babysat Marik when Marik was a baby, at Ishizu's request. He was a bit overprotective of his charge, even when his charge grew to be ten years old. When Marik had first met Ryou, Kaiba saw him as a danger. He didn't approve of Ryou's witchcraft, and Ryou often thought that Kaiba was trying to protect Marik from being spelled away into the unknown, despite the fact that Ryou would never expose a spell book around Marik for fear of driving him off with the "nonsense."

"Nothing happened, Seto," Marik replied. "Well, nothing happened that was Ryou's fault." Ryou felt surprised at Marik's sudden adamant behavior. He was defending Ryou with a great resolve, even though he'd just said that he'd hated him.

"So what's going on?" Joey replied, irate. "We hear something about Greece having another earthquake just as we fall into these black voids."

"We're waiting on Tristan to return with Mako," Rebecca said, glancing at the direction Tristan drove off. "Though I think a helicopter would've been faster…"

"With Tristan? No way!" Yugi insisted. "He knows exactly where everyone is at a given time. It's kinda creepy, really." Rebecca nodded, satisfied.

* * *

><p>By the time Tristan returned with Mako (and Ishizu, who had left the museum under her coworkers' care), the others were lodged at Kaiba's company penthouse for the night. The girls shared Joey's room, which, to their chagrin, looked like it hadn't been used at all, while the boys lay on the couches. Mokuba had arrived later and after confirming that he wasn't, indeed, a Greek god or goddess, he was designated to stay in the guest room.<p>

The next day, the guests woke up and unanimously decided not to wake the actual owners of the penthouse for fear of walking into something they wouldn't want to see. Luckily, Joey and Kaiba soon came in well-dressed and oriented.

"So I did some calculations last night before I fell asleep," Mokuba stated. "The next earthquake is, I estimate, a five weeks from now, just as that voice said." That got the entire room awake.

"What? Five weeks?" Rebecca said incredulously. "That…that doesn't make any sense!"

"Sure it does," Mokuba said good-naturedly, as if he didn't believe in the impending crisis that was about to befall the world. "I mean, I understand that the exponential behavior may be what's expected, but it isn't always the case with this situation." The group gathered around a data sheet that Mokuba had printed out. "Obviously, the voice would want to hold off on his energy for the final blow. This last earthquake just might take longer than the others, but it's only because he's going to make it as devastating as possible."

"How are you so calm about this?" Téa screeched. "We're going to be smashed into bits in a month and all you can say is 'it just might take longer than the others?' We need an exact reading!"

"I got it!" Rebecca said suddenly. "Kaiba's Demeter and Joey's Iasion! Though Iasion won't really help us…Joey will be more of a spectator."

"Who the hell is 'Iasion?'" Joey asked indignantly.

"Demeter's consort. He's the one that Zeus killed out of jealousy, though that seemed to happen a lot with Zeus," Rebecca said, staring at Yugi. Yugi blushed and looked away from the lot. It wasn't his fault that the god he was representing had been somewhat of a jerk!

"Well, now that we got _that_ cleared out of the way," Marik drawled. "Why don't we get to the more important part of the plan, the one where we don't die?"

"Alright, here's my preposition," Ishizu said suddenly. "We have a month to figure out what we can do as representatives. Obviously, the man that spoke to us from underground had immense power. We probably have similar power of our own design." Everyone nodded. "For example, Yugi can probably do something with thunderbolts. Téa's adept at strategy and keeping us together. Ryou's got his darkness, and it goes on. We just need to harness our power and get our acts together. We'll surely win!"

"How do we begin?" Mako yawned. "I'm a good fisherman, but I don't exactly know how to shoot water out of my eye sockets."

"Let's start by finding something different about each of us. What makes us different from the average person?" Tristan suggested. "I already know my power; I can zip at the speed of light. I literally found Mako within fifteen seconds, and that's saying something." Mokuba's eyes bugged out.

"Fifteen seconds to get from the arcade to the coast? Impossible," he remarked. Tristan shrugged.

"If you don't believe me, there's nothing that I can really do," he said smugly. "Anyway, Mai's already got half of Domino's men kneeling down to her." Mai laughed.

"I'll try out my flirting techniques to make sure that they're not any different from any other girl's," she reassured. "Anyone want to come with me?"

"I'll go!" Joey said. "I'll have to plow over anyone who tries to assault you. You're Serenity's inadvertent babysitter, after all!"

"I guess Seto should go with Marik and Ryou," Mokuba said. "He and Marik should work with plants while Ryou tries to focus his dark energies to differentiate between the vitality of the plants and the death of the soil surrounding them." Ryou sighed.

"It's a bit of a stretch, but I'll try," he said earnestly. "Come on, Marik! Let's go." Marik shot him a look before warily following him. Seto kept an owlish eye on the two as he followed as well.

"In the meantime, I guess I can try to alter radio frequencies," Yugi muttered. "I can already turn off a radio with a bit of electricity after rubbing my feet on the carpet for a while. Maybe I _do_ have some power…"

"Ishizu and Téa can help me plan out a war strategy," Rebecca announced. Téa looked at her with disdain.

"As if I'd work with you," she grumbled. Rebecca rolled her eyes.

"Jealous, just like Hera," she replied. "Don't worry, Yugi's not like Zeus, and I assure you that my puppy crush on him is over." Yugi blushed further and decided to take his leave. Marik, Ryou, and Kaiba left as well as Rebecca, Ishizu, and Téa began to plot out their plan, Mai chipping in here and there.

* * *

><p>Within a couple weeks, the group had a steady plan and an idea over what their powers were. The girls planned feverishly, and as the days passed, the skies grew redder and redder with the oncoming disaster. People began to encourage the kids, knowing that they had something to do with the salvation of the world. Téa woke up one morning to the sound of her alarm clock ringing, even though it was five hours early.<p>

"Wha-?" she stuttered. Suddenly, Yugi appeared through the door.

"I set it early…sorry I woke you," he said quietly. "I just…can we talk?" Téa stared at him with surprise, but then smiled and patted her bedside. Yugi smiled back and sat down. "I couldn't sleep. I kept dreaming of the voice and what it meant. For some reason, it's so familiar."

"I know," Téa replied. "I feel it, too. The void we were in…it wasn't just some dark hole. It was something that I've encountered before, or rather, something Hera encountered." At the mention of Hera's name, Yugi blushed.

"You know," he mumbled awkwardly. "You know that no one can replace you, right? You're the most important person to me." Téa flushed and looked at her lap, twiddling her thumbs, and Yugi continued. "I think that we've been mellowed out over the years. I'm much less of an outrageous flirt, you're less volatile, Tristan's less nosy…"

"Yeah," Téa agreed. "It shows in the others as well. Mai is less self-absorbed, Marik's a bit accepting of Ryou, and Ryou in turn is a bit more empathetic. Kaiba doesn't seem to have changed, though." Yugi shrugged.

"We can't all change," he explained. "At least he still has his heart of gold." Téa smiled and looked toward the ceiling.

"The Greek gods and goddesses, who'd have thought?" she mused. "Yugi? What do you know of Greek mythology?"

"Not much," Yugi confessed. "I only know that all the fathers of the gods and goddesses, including myself, were great asses." Téa barked out a laugh.

"They were, weren't they?" she replied, grinning. "No wonder all the goddesses were fed up."

"Heh, I wonder why the Greeks weren't a matriarchal society," Yugi said sheepishly. "The mothers were the only ones who seemed to care."

"Wait," a voice sounded from the opposite bed. Yugi and Téa both flinched and turned to Rebecca.

"Sorry, we didn't mean to wake you," Yugi began, but Rebecca held out a hand.

"That's it!" she whispered harshly. "I know who the enemy is! Yugi, Téa, gather all the gods and goddesses!" Yugi and Téa exchanged a minute look before they got their phones and began to dial.

* * *

><p><em>Rhea had been sleeping for a while, but even she couldn't ignore the feeling of all her children and grandchildren gathered in one spot and fully-powered. She awoke and stared down at them. It seemed that they were feverishly planning for something, and when Rhea felt the oppressive force that could only be her husband's power, fear gripped her heart. She did not want to lose her children again, not when they had already overcome her husband's power once before. It was just not fair! She bit her lip and stared worriedly into the distance. Her brows then furrowed. Who was she to sit around and wait? She was Rhea, mother of all the gods and goddesses! She wouldn't merely sit around and let her husband kill the reincarnations of her children again!<em>

_ Rhea clenched her teeth and felt her power grow. She would be strong, just as her son was. Just as all her children were._

_ They would not be fighting alone._

* * *

><p>"Five days left…" Marik said sadly, looking up at the crimson sky. "Do you think we're up to facing Cronos?" They both instinctively flinched at the name.<p>

"As long as we're practicing," Ryou replied. "I think we've hit our limits as to how strong we are. What worries me is the fact that our power is puny compared to our…father's."

"My _grand_father," Marik corrected. "You know, that's kinda messed up. If I'm married to you, I'm married to my uncle." Ryou gave him a look.

"Let's not think of it that way," he said decidedly. "We're friends. I'm not related to you in any way shape or form." Marik began to protest, but Ryou turned away with a dark expression on his face. Marik stopped and stared at him.

"Is there something wrong, Ryou?" he asked. Ryou shook his head, forcing up a smile.

"I'm just worried about what our father might do to us," he lied. Marik frowned as well and gripped his hand.

"So am I," he replied quietly. Both of them knew that Ryou's statement was not true. Ryou was upset about something else, but Marik wasn't going to pry. He knew how life worked; it took time and energy. Patience would eventually draw out Ryou's concern. For now, he decided, he would be content with looking out into the distance and watching the red sky slowly lose all its clouds.

"Why do you hate me?" Ryou asked softly. There was no spite in his sentence, and Marik knew from a sort of age-old wisdom that Ryou wasn't looking for a fight. It was a legitimate question.

"I don't hate you," he replied firmly. "You're the only one I could ever picture myself being with for the rest of my life."

"Then why do you push me away?" Ryou asked, leaning into Marik's face and staring into his eyes. Marik didn't move, staring back coolly. He knew that he distanced himself from Ryou, but he hadn't really thought about it. All he knew was that he belonged to Ryou, as Ryou belonged to him, but there was something that pushed him away, something bigger than even Kaiba's disapproval, which mattered to him greatly. There was just a difference of elements that repelled them like the opposite ends of magnets.

"I don't know," Marik replied calmly. "You can feel it, too. You know." He turned away from Ryou's earnest face. "There's just a difference. There's a wall there that I can't really tear down. You're death, I'm life. I'm really just…don't you think…it was doomed from the start?"

The silence echoed like a raging flame. Ryou felt as if Marik had physically stabbed him in the gut, and he began to turn away. Clenching his teeth, he shook his head and turned back, grabbing Marik's shoulders and forcing Marik to turn to his face.

"Death and life aren't that different," he said fiercely. "We depend on each other. We're irreversible. Death and life belong to each other more than _anything in this world_."

"Ryou-"

"Marik, I know that you don't want to believe what you just said. You don't want to think that we were doomed from the start because we _aren't_. Every couple has their differences with each other, and ours are just more pronounced," Ryou reiterated. "It's just that…we're also more _together_ than anyone else as well. Even Joey and Kaiba...I think..." Marik looked at the ground, but Ryou could detect a small smile.

"You're right," Marik said happily. Ryou grinned as the blonds hand wrapped around his own. "You're right. We're in pretty deep."

"I knew you'd see it my way," Ryou remarked, feeling joy well up in him. "Seriously, we have some catching up to do in terms of lost marriage years!"

"Don't get too excited," Marik grumbled, rolling his eyes. "We're not exactly married yet." Ryou grinned cheekily.

"'Yet!'" he emphasized before Marik whapped him on the back of his head.

* * *

><p>"Alright you guys!" Rebecca said firmly. "Now that you've mastered your individual powers, it's time for you to work together and balance off your attacks!"<p>

"Sorry, Joey, but you'll really only be supervising," Mokuba said sheepishly. Joey put on a scowl before trudging over to his spot beside the surveyors. He kept glancing at Kaiba, who gave him a smug stare. Joey growled. He should've known that Kaiba would've convinced the others that Joey's power was otherwise worthless. He knew that it was because Kaiba was worried for his health, but honestly, where did that leave Joey? Worried for Kaiba's health? The fact just didn't sit well with him.

"I'm sorry I'm late!" A voice called. "I'm here!" Ishizu appeared next to Mako, having used her strength to throw herself towards the group. Marik looked on, impressed.

"Ishizu really is Athena," he muttered. Ishizu looked at him with a grin.

"Except I'm far more of a feminist," she corrected. "Athena originally didn't teach women how to perform mathematical and scientific measures. Obviously, I don't think that's right." Tristan gave an exasperated sigh.

"Great, another feminist," he grumbled. All the girls rolled their eyes at him before Rebecca got down to business.

"Okay, the first combination Mokuba and I came up with was Athena and Zeus," she remarked. "Athena wasn't really fond of her father because of his infidelities, so we'll try to patch that up." Ishizu and Yugi nodded. Yugi raised his hand and lifted a bolt of lightning that was blue and extra powerful. He grinned at Ryou.

"You gave me this as a gift in exchange for Persephone," he said, winking. Marik gave him a withering stare as Ryou flushed. Ishizu then tried to transfer her strength into Yugi, but all it did was make the thunderbolt smaller. Ishizu growled and tried to pour in more strength, but the static charge only weakened.

"Why isn't this working?" she asked, frustrated. Mokuba chewed his inner lip, confused. Rebecca ran a hand through her hair and tried to figure it out, but ultimately came up with nothing.

"I know why," Kaiba said. The group turned to him. "You're trying to quash Yugi's power with your own. Essentially, you're trying to fight fire with fire, which in this case makes a smaller fire." He indicated the lightning. "Try understanding him. What qualities does Yugi have that you admire?" Ishizu closed her eyes and focused.

"He's happy. I also like the fact that he's energetic," she said slowly. The bolt of lightning became somewhat bigger. Mokuba crowed with success.

"Perfect!" he cheered. "Focus on those aspects, Ishizu! Let them override your past!" Ishizu smiled at his eagerness and complied, making the lightning grow even bigger than it had started out.

"Let me try," Marik said. He closed his eyes and saw all the wrongs Zeus had done to Persephone, down to claiming that her children were his instead of Hades. With a large sigh, he looked past that and saw Yugi as a fun-loving, bright young man who always pulled through for his friends, despite his less-than-savory past. The bolt in Yugi's hand was enormous, but Yugi was having no trouble wielding it. Ryou still felt as if he should help with the control. Since he created the lightning, he focused his energies to it instead of Yugi, using his power not to fuel the lightning but to make it more stable. One by one, the gods and goddesses inserted their power into Yugi, causing Ryou and Yugi to work harder to maintain the bolt. Suddenly, Ryou felt a weight lift off his shoulders. The lightning was a bit smaller, but the control was then manageable. Opening his eyes, he saw Marik glancing at him and infusing him with his power. Through the connection, he could sense Marik's worry and attempt to correct the problem. If the others noticed what went on, they didn't say anything. The earth began to tremble as the bolt became as powerful as it ever could be, but Rebecca suddenly raised her hand.

"Stop!" she yelled. Immediately, the gods and goddesses dropped their power and the entire apparatus disappeared. They all sank to the ground in exhaustion, feeling each other's pain. "Now we have to try Mai's. Well…I guess you guys can take a nap first." The party gave a groan of approval before taking a nap then and there on the floor. Mokuba shared a worried glance with Rebecca.

"We're going to have to master this before they completely die," he said with foreboding. Rebecca nodded, and they impassively watched as the older kids breathed heavily in their sleep.

* * *

><p>"Two days until the big day!" Ryou chirped in the morning after a hard day of practicing powers. Everyone looked at him oddly as he stretched and grinned widely. "What?"<p>

"Nothing! It's just…" Téa began. "Did you switch bodies with Yugi?" Ryou raised an eyebrow.

"Are you telling me that you have a crush on me or something?" he said cautiously. Téa blushed furiously and frowned, but luckily Mai came to her aid.

"That's not it," she said, shaking her head. "You're awfully chipper today, especially since our imminent doom is scheduled for the day after tomorrow." Ryou shrugged.

"No sense in letting the world dictate us, eh? You should be optimistic as well!" he replied cheerfully. Mako sighed as he exited the boys room.

"Relax. He's just happy because Marik slept next to him last night. It was really corny, and they took the largest bed so we were left with the puny futons," he grumbled. Ryou laughed and waved a dismissive hand at Mako, but the girls shrugged and accepted the excuse.

"Well, though unconventional, Ryou's philosophy isn't far off. We can't let this doom overcome us," Rebecca stated knowingly. "If it does, Cronos will defeat us in a heartbeat."

"Well we shouldn't just be happy-go-lucky all the time," Tristan yawned. "And it's hard to think of how fine everything is when the weight of the world rests on our shoulders." Yugi, who entered just as Tristan uttered the sentence, rolled his eyes.

"Optimism isn't about ignoring what's going on in front of our faces," he protested. "It's about being hopeful for the future! We practiced so damn hard yesterday that we're sure to win!"

"Yeah!" Ryou cheered, and Yugi managed to look bewildered before his face melted into one of adoration.

"You've finally seen the light!" he said with over-the-top joy. "FINALLY! I knew you'd understand!" The mood lightened as everyone laughed at the two. There was an underlying tension, no doubt, but at this point everyone had done their best to work with each other and there was nothing more anyone could offer. Kaiba shared a sad glance at Joey, who laughed as he chatted with his friends. He couldn't imagine a world without Joey anymore, especially since they'd dated for almost three years now. Kaiba closed his eyes and sighed. The group had already decided that Joey wouldn't be participating in the fight, but Kaiba was still worried that Joey's lack of power would kill him. The practice the entire group had undergone made them more resilient to power. Joey, obviously, didn't, and couldn't, have that experience. A sigh came from Seto's mouth as he looked on, savoring what little time he had left with Joey until the moment when the worst befell the group. He had to live as if he was never going to see Joey again.

"Hey bro?" Mokuba's voice filtered through his mind. Kaiba looked at him with surprise, having not heard him approach.

"Hey," he replied. "Are you going to spout some nonsense about how I should be happy instead of worried out of my mind?"

"It's not nonsense, bro!" Mokuba said indignantly. "But…no, I didn't come over here to say that. I just came to wish you luck." Kaiba looked down at him fondly.

"Thanks Mokuba," he replied. Mokuba nodded before turning away.

"You know, there's no way we can win if even one of you guys dies," he said quietly. "Cronos is your father, and you won't be able to surprise him the way Zeus had in the beginning. He has all of your guys' powers, and if one of you dies, the entire mission is lost. Even Joey provides a force in this." Kaiba looked at Mokuba with surprise, not expecting his admission. "So I mean it, Seto. Good luck, and kick their asses." Kaiba could only nod at his brother's words. It was obvious that Mokuba was in deep pain about this whole predicament, and he seemed to need the optimism the most. Kaiba sighed. If it was as Mokuba said it was, then he had no business weighing everyone's mood down. He managed to integrate himself into Joey's conversation and ease the mood somewhat. No matter what happened, they would win. There would be nothing else in the world otherwise.

* * *

><p>On the last day, they'd rested. The oppressive crimson sky was as dark as blood in the morning, just when a crowd gathered around their building and demanded salvation. The group looked at one another with grim smiles. This was the moment where they would either win or lose the world they'd created in previous lives. This was the moment where they would either say goodbye to each other, or welcome each other anew. One by one, they trailed out of the house and into Kaiba's jet. They made their way to Mokuba's coordinates, placed directly over the source of the earthquakes. The journey was brief, as their training had been held near Greece anyway. Closing their eyes, the group held each other's hands and waited. Mokuba, Joey, and Rebecca watched apprehensively from Domino as their friends and family awaited their grandfather and father, a god who had been defeated for the longest time only to rise more powerful than ever.<p>

"We should steady ourselves with Kaiba's magic," Ishizu said solemnly. "We have to prevent the earthquake from happening." Everyone else nodded without speaking as Kaiba rooted them to the ground and began to make a network of roots and stone to strengthen the ground against any earthquakes.

"He's coming," he said quietly. "My roots are right next to him. He's using a lot of heat." Mai lifted her head defiantly.

"Then let's combat him with heat of our own!" she snarled. Her power sparkled from her hands. "It's disgusting, though. Will Cronos really be attracted to one of his own grandchildren?" Mako laughed.

"Zeus and I slept around," he remarked, making Yugi blush. "I don't see how Cronos wouldn't fall in love with his own granddaughter."

"That's nasty," Téa said with a disgusted look on her face. "At any rate, we should spread out like so and get into position…" She offered them a mental image of what she had planned. Everyone knew that they'd better listen to Téa, and Ishizu conceded with her strategy. After everyone got into position, they waited. Tristan clenched his sweaty fists as the earth began to rattle lightly. It didn't shake wildly thanks to Kaiba's roots, but the group could feel the heat of molten lava rush up and meet them. Mai immediately dashed her magic at the ground, trying to earn a preemptive strike. There was a brief pause before the entire earth blew up into their faces.

"TITANS!" a deep voice called. "ATTACK!" Ishizu and Kaiba immediately dodged out of the way as two misshapen creatures lumbered towards them and lobbed their large fists right to where they'd been standing.

"Titans!" Rebecca shrieked. "Dammit! I forgot about the _Titans_!" Joey looked on with cold terror as Kaiba brought up a rock and tried to kill the beasts, only to drop it in order to dodge three more that had suddenly appeared.

"Yugi!" Tristan cried. "Let's show them how we do it!" Yugi grinned and lifted his lightning bolt. Tristan blew a frenzied gust of wind that momentarily frazzled the Titans as they covered their pus-laden eyes. Yugi took this opportunity to crush his bolt and unleash a flurry of sparks into the wind, effectively shocking the Titans involved in the fight. Kaiba quickly crushed a bit of rock and also caused sharp stones equivalent to shrapnel to pierce the hides of the Titans, leaving them bloody and paralyzed.

"DON'T LET THEM HARM YOU!" Cronos roared, though the Titans were already injured. Mai peered into the hole that the voice was coming from, shocked to see Cronos locked in a large cage and glaring at the group. "KILL THEM!" The Titans obliged and utterly ignored their wounds. Kaiba growled and brought up magically-enhanced flowers to wrap themselves around the group of Titans. Once he was sure that they were immobile, he looked to Ishizu with a smirk.

"Take care of them, Ishizu!" Kaiba cried. Ishizu grinned back and leapt high into the air, aided by Tristan's winds. She twirled her spear downwards, and Tristan pushed her straight into the group of Titans for the fatal blow.

"YES!" Mokuba cried as the last of the Titans twitched before dying. "Go Ishizu!"

"THAT WAS ONLY THE BEGINNING!" came the loud laughter. The earth grew hotter as Cronos rose from the ground and closed up the hole from beneath him before crashing down. His fearsome face looked at each of his children with a strange combination of hatred and amusement. "PREPARE TO BE ANNIHILATED!"

Titans sprang from the crevices of his cage, seemingly coming from Cronos himself. They jittered about and dodged all attacks, even Yugi's widespread static.

"I can't hit them!" Mako growled. "They keep missing my waves!" Ryou frowned as even Tristan, with his widespread wind flow, was unable to defeat the hiding Titans who each had the agility of a cat. Ryou closed his eyes and channeled his power in an all-consuming wave that engulfed Titans, gods, and goddesses alike.

"Let's see how you fare without your vitality!" he roared, forcing everyone to stay put and stare lifelessly at him. Marik then ran and touched each of the gods and goddesses, leaving them impervious to Ryou's death magic. Cronos rattled his cage in frustration as his Titans quickly wasted away.

"NO!" he said, louder than ever. "NO! I WON'T LET YOU WIN! _NEVER_!" The world grew hotter and the sky grew black. Each god and goddess felt a twinge of fear. This was their father, a supreme demon who had cultivated his power throughout the years. They were merely children who had just figured out their powers, children whose lives were about a blink of an eye in the face of Cronos' age. One by one, they all sank to their knees. Yugi was the last to sink, but he knew that it couldn't happen. Cronos' power, his hot pressure on their very atmosphere, pressed down on them at all sides. Téa felt her muscles collapse and she fell to the burning floor with a grunt. Mako let a few tears fall as he felt the brunt of the attack. His waterpower was evaporating, leaving him as a shell. There was nothing. It was like Ryou's void, but painful as well. Ryou closed his eyes, feeling the need to succumb and die rather than face this hell…

"Stop Cronos!" came a yell. The pressure suddenly fell away and the gods and goddesses immediately rose. Ishizu gasped as she perused the sky for the speaker who had saved them all, but Yugi gave a grin and pointed straight up into the sky.

"It's our mother and grandmother!" he cried. Rhea descended from the skies and stared angrily at her husband.

"Are you kids alright?" she asked hurriedly, never breaking eye-contact with her furious husband. "You'd better charge up. I can only restrain him for so long, and I think that he's going to try to attack one of you at a time. Zeus, I think he'll be going for you first." Yugi started in surprise at his god name, but nodded. Téa gave the situation a calculating glance.

"Everyone! Focus your powers around Yugi!" she cried. "We don't know for sure if he's the target, but he's the one in the very center, so it should be easy to shift targets once Cronos decides who he wants to attack!" The group nodded in understanding, knowing that Téa's strategy was her pride. Rhea gave a sickly sweet grin at Cronos.

"Now, dear, we know that you're going to focus all your power in the next attack," she said in mock-gentleness. "Make your choice. As you know, our children are strong. I believe that they'll throw you out after you fail your next move." Cronos gave her a venomous glare, but then exchanged it for a crooked smile.

"I already have my choice, dearest," he replied just as sweetly. "All I have to do is kill before you watch all your children die in a matter of seconds." Ishizu's eyes widened and she leaned towards Marik.

"It's a riddle," she whispered harshly. "You can't have life without death, and there's only one person in our group who can make us all die with his own death. Marik, he's going to go after-" She never got to finish her sentence as a flaming rock flew towards Ryou at breakneck speed. Marik felt his heart stop, but it restarted furiously as he rushed toward Ryou and shot out his hand.

"OH HELL NO!" he roared, and vines wrapped around the rock long enough for the group's shields to get around Ryou. Marik gasped as the fire from the rock rushed out on his vines and onto his hands, burning them in the process. He still didn't let go, thinking of Ryou's smiling face, his devotion, and his adoration…

Marik felt his desires mirror back. There was no way he was letting go. He was so focused on his endeavor that he didn't even notice the fact that Ryou had escaped the danger and was currently hurtling towards him to prevent him from losing his limbs from the fire.

"Marik, LET GO!" he roared. Marik stumbled backwards and retracted his vines as Ryou slammed into him. Thankfully, since Marik was stronger and bigger, the impact didn't hurt him as much as it would have if the roles had been reversed.

"Everyone, attack NOW!" Téa screamed, withdrawing her shield in favor of her spear. Ryou turned to see that Cronos was recuperating rather quickly from the blow he'd been given. With a bout of dark fury borne from the burns on Marik's hands, he summoned forth a darkness that drained Cronos of any power he might have had.

The attack could only be described as beautiful. The colors of each individual power blended nicely alongside each other, making not a murky brown, but a black that seemed to be a prism reflecting a rainbow of color. Ryou felt drawn, and within minutes he was also contributing to the dark, yet colorful ray of power.

Cronos, however, was still holding his own. The others started panicking, knowing that they couldn't hold for long, when Kaiba suddenly wrenched his head to the trailer.

"Joey!" he yelled. Joey gritted his teeth and shot out his power. Though it was meager, he was able to tip the scale and send the combined strength onto Cronos.

Cronos screamed as the attack ripped him into shreds. Despite herself, Rhea could not join her children and opted to turn away as her husband died. He was her brother as well, back in the time when sisters and brothers could marry each other, and she could remember all his good qualities before they had disappeared under the bad. His children would not remember his bravery and dedication. They would only remember his cruelty and his self-inflated ego. Rhea turned back to see that the deed was done, and Cronos was gone.

"Hades," she said softly. Ryou turned to her from Marik's side, chewing his lip. He knew what she was going to ask… "Please make his journey relatively painless. He was your father, even if he was vile in your eyes…"

"Mother, the journey is always dependent on the type of person, or god," Ryou sighed. "My previous deaths were worse than my recent ones because I gradually learned my lesson, just as the rest of us did." Marik came up beside him and placed an arm around his shoulders.

"He's right," he sighed. "I was always cruel to Hades, even when he offered me the world. At first, it was justified because he took me by force, then tricked me into eating pomegranate seeds to keep me with him during the winter. I learned my lesson much slower than he did. Forgiveness, after all, is much easier than holding a grudge." Rhea smiled.

"Maybe your father's next journey will be a good one," she said. "Hopefully, a curse won't guide his actions and force him to perform bad deeds once again." Her children nodded before she suddenly lifted her arms. "I'm going to leave now. Olympus needs a goddess to watch over it. Once you are done with your human lives, you will come with me to Olympus and live happily until your next journey. I'll be waiting." With that, she disappeared, and the entire group of gods and goddesses seemed to sag.

"We did it," Téa sighed as she leaned against Yugi. Yugi blushed slightly before leaning his head tentatively against Téa's.

"Yeah," he murmured, "We sure did."

* * *

><p>The party was enormous. Survivors flocked from all over congratulating and thanking the heroes and the heroines, making some of them a bit bashful (namely Yugi) and some egotistical (namely Marik).<p>

"Of course, I couldn't let him have Ryou!" Marik announced loudly, holding Ryou to his side. Ryou flushed and tried to look away, but Mai chuckled as she sensed his comfort. Being the goddess of love certainly had its perks, but then again, it certainly had its downfalls. She sighed irritably as she got up, walked down the hallway, and knocked on the broom closet.

"Joey! Seto! There's no way _in hell_ you're going to have sex in there!" she shouted. "This isn't even your house! Get out of there and enjoy the party! Prove to us that you guys aren't a couple horny rabbits!" There was silence before Joey sheepishly opened the door, his clothes disheveled. He made his way outside as Kaiba cleared his throat and held out a wad of cash.

"To keep your mouth shut," he grumbled as he followed Joey outside. Mai smirked as she flipped through all the money. Yes, being a goddess had its perks. She turned and almost cooed at the sight of Ryou kissing Marik lightly on the cheek, causing Marik to blush even through his tan skin. It was obvious that things would be looking up.

As for Ryou, exhaustion was filling every bone and fiber. A great amount of people had died in that final battle with the gigantic earthquake. Five out of seven continents were severely suffering: the Americas, Europe, Africa, and eastern Asia. There were so many dead souls that needed to be ferried across into the plains…

Marik, as Persephone, felt the pain as well, though not as acutely as Ryou did. He closed his eyes and shared his strength with Ryou. Even though they had defeated Cronos, the true battle lay in how the world would heal itself. All they could really do at this point was watch and wait.

* * *

><p><strong>(AN:)/ **Lol, maybe eventually I'll understand how to finish a story XP. Until then, see you guys! I actually have an idea for a smut (my first smut *faints*) planned for after...er...a bunch of chapters. But yeah! The rating might go up soon...


	18. Reason

**(A/N):/** Omg it's really been forever! I had serious writer's block when coming up with this next chapter that it was like a dam about to blow from rage! Agh, stressful times call for stressful situations...

This is a result of watching too much Cold Case, then watching too many heartwarming movies. SUCH THINGS HAPPEN. I also happen to have a fervent love of Disney movies like the Great Mouse Detective (though this is incomparable to that amazing emotional movie).

Enjoy! X3

* * *

><p>Reason<p>

For the longest time, I depended on Amane to be my reason for living. It was an important concept to me; living. If I didn't have a purpose, then why bother surviving? What impact would I make on the people around me? It didn't matter to me that Amane was an evil person who harmed others for her personal gain. It didn't matter to me that she managed to arrest both my father and my mother when they had disagreed with her or withheld whatever she'd wanted. I was closer to her than any of them. I was her brother, and I would do anything for her.

It shouldn't have surprised me when she asked me to find her a boyfriend. A decent man, supportive and loving, who would care for her and above all, match her wits. She was thirteen when she asked me this, a victim of social pressures with an ambition to rise above all. I searched high and low, but could not find the right match for someone as smart yet as cynical as my sister. If I had to be honest, the main reason that I didn't find anyone was because I just couldn't believe that they were suitable enough for her. My sister only deserved the best, and frankly, there was no one who fit the criteria.

Eventually, however, she got fed up.

"Big brother," she said in her sickly sweet voice. That voice always spelled trouble for me, whether it resulted in my expulsion from my college (my sister already managed to ban me from half the schools in the nation) to my loss of friends (she especially enjoyed this method, resulting in many dead or comatose friends of mine), or finally, personal torture (this one was rarely used, as I bruise easily and prevent her from covering her tracks). "Why haven't you found me a boyfriend yet? My friends are asking when they can meet my proposed love, and it's already been a year. You never take this long when doing my duties. Is he hard to take down?"

"No, my sister," I said quietly. She leaned back and glared at me.

"Then _what is it_?" she snapped. "Surely there are millions of men that fit my caliber! If you fail me, brother, then there will surely be hell to pay."

"No one can truly fit your caliber," I said warmly. "I've tried to find someone perfect, but I cannot find a man suitable for my little sister." She didn't take my plea as a compliment, as I'd hoped. I watched as her face turned cold and she stared at me, completely still. She was truly beautiful, an ice queen. I ducked my head slightly, but wisely didn't say anything. It was all up to her. If I spoke, I took the power away from her, and frankly, I didn't want any more trouble.

"I hope that you aren't suggesting that this task is too hard for you," she muttered. I strained to hear her, but years of practice allowed me to shake my head.

"I will fulfill any of your requests, Amane," I replied. "I believe that my perspective as your older brother is too much of a hindrance and prevents me from finding someone good enough for you." I flinched, waiting for her to denounce my poor excuse. Instead, she smirked and laughed a sound that spelled death for some and freedom for others. I dearly hoped that luck was in my future…

"Lose your perspective, Ryou," she said softly. "I believe that I can make this easier for you, but we will both have to work together, no?"

"I agree," I said warily. I'd felt some relief enter my system at her amusement, but I was still wracked by fear. What could she be planning? My demise, no doubt.

"You can start by researching criminals. Young criminals. Make sure that they're successful and not some idiot that gets caught within three minutes of his heist," she said coldly. "Remember, he cannot exceed my age by more than three years, and he cannot be younger than me by any means. Also, I'd like you to interview him for his maturity standards. If the one you've selected with your 'perspective' fits my criteria, you will receive an ample reward." I nodded at her, already forming a list. I'd already researched criminals that had escaped their crimes, and none of them fit my criteria. I decided that I needed to refine my search to include cold cases: cases in which the criminal had not been identified.

"I already have a plan, sister," I said honestly. She nodded at me and waved her hand. I smiled at her and left, eager to start on this new assignment and to prove to her that I wasn't as incompetent as she thought I was. I immediately called some of my agents to help with my next task; solve the cold cases that would result in teen suspects, possibly a criminal mastermind that would meet my sister's criteria.

* * *

><p>"Uh, my name's Mako. I like fish," the boy said dumbly. I stared at him with incredulity.<p>

"You can't be serious," I said exasperatedly. I spent all night arranging secret meetings and looking up accurate references in order to find my sister the perfect man, and this buffoon is the only one who popped up?

What was the world coming to?

"Did you or did you not kill Mai Valentine on June 6th, 2003?" I said seriously, looking into his eyes for any clues. Mako grinned and shrugged.

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't," he chuckled. "How much will ya give me for the answer?" I stared at him coldly.

"Nothing, because my investigators have already solved the case. You're the suspect. I honestly don't know how the police didn't figure this out; your fingerprints were all over her breasts," I said with disgust. "Take him to the police." My enforcing agents grasped Mako's arms as he protested loudly. I ignored him utterly and looked at my next assignment.

Marik Ishtar. A strange name, but then, every name was strange in these parts. After all, there was a man around here who went by my last name and who looked like an evil version of me. I sincerely thought that Amane sent him out there to make me go mad…

"Hello," a man with a deep voice said, entering the room. I nodded to him and bade him to sit down.

"Marik Ishtar?" I asked. The man nodded, and I rolled my eyes slightly. He was wearing this god-awful hood that made him look like some sort of creep. That's right, not suspicious at all.

"Yes," he answered. I raised an eyebrow and jotted down some notes. He wasn't a man of many words; a good quality for my sister.

"My notes say that you are sixteen," I said doubtfully. "Is that true?"

"Yes," he replied. I stared at him flatly, but didn't deign to continue. He sat patiently as I stared him down. What really annoyed me was the fact that I couldn't even see if his eyes were in my direction.

"Oh for goodness' sake, take off the hood!" I snapped. The man didn't move.

"You are in no position to question me," he said coolly. "I demand your respect." I sneered at him, annoyed at his inability to cooperate.

"You are responsible for the plane crash in Brazil, 2006," I replied just as coolly. He tilted his head slightly.

"Prove it," he said calmly. I clenched my fists slightly and snapped my fingers. My agents turned on the projector and I held my laptop in my hands, sliding to the screen in question.

"There," I snapped. "Your fingerprints match the ones on the weapon that was clearly used to sabotage the engine."

"Do they?" Marik asked in a coquettish tone. "I don't believe they do. Why don't you look at my fingers to make sure?" I glowered at him, but I couldn't resist the opportunity to show him up. I sent some of my agents over to bring an inkpad and some paper.

"I am absolutely certain that it's you," I hissed. "When we get the fingerprints and I'm proven correct, I'll make sure to punish you severely for wasting my time." The fool had the audacity to laugh at my seriousness, making me all too angry and eager to prove to him that I was, in fact, correct. I already had my arrow hovering over the file of Marik's fingerprints. All I needed was valid proof.

"Ready?" Marik asked kindly, as if he pitied me. I rolled my eyes and waved him on. He slowly pressed his fingers to the inkpad and brought them to the paper, making sure that he wasn't moving too quickly so as to lose any detail on the prints. I leaned in and examined the procedure with hawk eyes, making sure that he didn't screw up and sabotage the process. He was actually too careful, so confident in his assumption that he tried his best to make it blatantly obvious what his fingerprints were.

"Now for the test," I said smugly once he finished. I examined the loops and whorls he'd placed on the sheet, then clicked on the file with confidence. I looked toward him to see any show of disbelief or grief. His face, however, only held a little smile.

"See for yourself, Ryou Bakura," he said suavely. I blanched at the fact that he knew my name and turned to the screen. Sure enough, the fingerprints did not match in the slightest. Marik's fingers were even a bit bigger than the fingerprints on the screen. I sat, stumped and defeated. This man was obviously too old to be my sister's boyfriend, even though he stated that he was only sixteen. I was a bit put out, wondering where I had gone wrong in the investigation. The crime scene had been littered with fingerprints, but I had discovered that the major threatening areas had had different fingerprints than the ones scattered about. I had noted these fingerprints with meticulous attention, but evidently it was useless. The fingerprints of Marik that I had on my database were wrong…but it was still hard to see why he would allow me to take his fingerprints in the first place.

He had to be the right person! We had taken his skin samples as he'd walked through the door, and they matched the files! I bit my lip and delved into thought. There had to be some reason why the facts weren't adding up…

I groaned. I wasn't the thinker in the family; Amane was. I was more of the intelligence that gathered all the useful resources. With a sigh, I contacted Amane and found that, with humility, the office was quiet enough such that everyone knew what I would be saying and how Amane would reply, no matter how quietly we spoke.

"Hello?" Amane's voice echoed. "Ryou, what is it?"

"I found an…interesting specimen," I said, glancing at the now-stiffened man across from me. "He managed to prove my accusation wrong, though I am certain that he is in charge of the crime." I gave her the rundown of what had happened and she sighed.

"Isn't it obvious?" she said, somewhat dreamily. "The man is intelligent enough to brush some of his skin cells on his crony. The crony then imitates the man and pretends that he is, in fact, Marik Ishtar." She sounded the words out as if they were the sweetest things to come pass her lips. The imposter across from me stayed impossibly stiff, and I got the impression that he was sweating bullets under his heavy garments. "You've caught one hot villain, though," Amane continued. "You probably already know this, but he's had a hot streak of getting away from crimes that are sticky situations even for me!" I nodded. I'd already known this, but I hadn't known that my sister already had her heart set out for this man even before she'd sent me out.

Suddenly, a series of beeps sounded from around the room and the imposter before me stood up and revealed his face. I saw that half his face was covered with tattoos…but on closer inspection they revealed themselves to be scars. I felt my eyes widen as the very ceiling tore off from above our heads and the imposter managed to climb a rope ladder, escaping through a helicopter. A harsh, nasally voice sounded through the phone.

"Thanks for the compliments, sweetie," said the voice. "But I must be going. I'll keep an eye out for my number one fan!" Amane let out a gasp before I felt two arms wrap around me and tie me to my chair. I struggled to get out, but before I could move a hand came into my line of vision and strapped on a gag. I protested and tried to reach my sister through the phone, but another double-agent stepped on the phone and cracked it. The helicopter was long gone, but I knew who was responsible for this entire mess. Marik Ishtar.

There was no way out of the predicament, from what I could see. I closed my eyes and concentrated on listening. I was being carried away into a vehicle, and my sister's shouts slowly disappeared. I figured that I had no choice but to succumb to the greater evil, though an evil greater than my sister was certainly bad news for me.

* * *

><p>When the blindfold was removed from my eyes, I found that I was trapped inside a room that was painted entirely in yellow. I grimaced at the guards as they parted to let the imposter through. I gave him an icy glare as he sat down across from my bound chair. The trip in the truck had not been fun, and I had been tossed around uncomfortably to ensure that I didn't register all the twists and turns that had occurred during the ride. I had no way of letting Amane know where I was.<p>

"What do you want from me?" I hissed. It was the only relevant question that I had to ask, so I was more than a little upset when the imposter shook his head.

"That, I cannot tell you," he said in his deep voice, so unlike Marik's. "All I know is that Master Marik wanted to see you. It is highly unusual for him to want to see one of his victims, so I have no speculations, either." I felt my upper lip lift in a semblance of a snarl. I wasn't happy with the way things were turning out, especially since the tension in the room was so high. I was the only enemy in the room, and judging by the smug looks of the agents around me, they knew it.

"Well, where is he?" I asked venomously. "It's rude to keep your guests waiting." The man shrugged and smiled slightly.

"If I know Marik, I know that he's probably robbing a precious artifact from the local museum. It's for reasons that will not be disclosed to you, so you needn't worry your guilty head about it," he replied coolly, staring directly into my eyes. I shrugged, feigning nonchalance at the curiosity-inducing question. Inside my head, however, I was reeling. How dare he kidnap me and neglect to visit me! Obviously, he didn't consider Amane or her workers to be good enough to be within his top priorities.

I frowned. This characteristic of his was so much like Amane's that I reconsidered the possibility that they could be a couple. In fact, he was challenging enough to occupy her. I gave an exasperated sigh. Then again, adding fire to an already burning flame only created a bigger disaster.

I was left with the imposter looking at my changing expressions in amusement. He raised his eyebrow and began to interrogate me; an activity that I had no choice but to comply with for fear of his agents harming me.

"So, why are you interested in Marik?" the imposter asked.

"I'm looking for an ample suitor for my sister. He had to be within three years of age from her, and he could not be younger. She didn't want to be ridiculed for her taste in younger men," I said, feeling ridiculous as I said it. I was further embarrassed when the man gave a derogatory laugh.

"So you play puppy to your sister so she doesn't have to lift a finger?" he chuckled. I felt my blood boil.

"I care for my sister!" I snapped. "You probably don't know what it's like to care! Your life only consists of being a doppelganger for someone who you probably haven't even met!"

"Ah, now you're trying to rile me up," he sighed. "I guess you aren't really as advanced as Marik speculated you were." My face heated up and I nearly let out tears of fury. It just wasn't fair! I hadn't asked to be patronized by some crony who apparently held a higher status in his boss' eyes than I held for my own sister!

"Now, now, Odion, you've made our subject upset," came that all-too-familiar nasally voice. I felt my anger rise as Marik entered in the flesh, his appearance the most bizarre I had ever seen. Here was a _man_ wearing a midriff shirt and tight, leather pants that made him look like…like a _transvestite_! The makeup on his eyes didn't help his case any. Perhaps Amane wouldn't like him all that much after all…

"Why are you being so heedless of our identities in front of our guest, Master Marik?" Odion said calmly but with a hint of disappointment. Marik visibly flinched, but recovered faster than I ever could around Amane.

"I was planning on having our guest stay for an extended period of time, Odion," he replied cheerfully. "So, Ryou Bakura, how are you enjoying the walls? They are said to promote happiness in people." I rolled my eyes.

"I'm sickened. It's such an obvious ploy that I'm ashamed of even looking at them," I spat. Marik looked at me with wide eyes in mock-offense.

"After all I did to make you comfortable," he sighed. I got the immediate image of a cat toying with a mouse. "I suppose I'll have to deposit you off into a different room…" I inwardly grinned. If Marik was going to have me imprisoned, yet look after my comfort, there was no way that I would make it easy for him.

"I prefer a shade of light blue. However, it cannot be too light or too dark, else I fear I may just die of revulsion."

* * *

><p>The first two weeks were my own. Marik didn't disrupt me, and I was allowed to have contact with Amane, though no one else.<p>

"I hate this…" she snarled. "I cannot get a lead on this character! The caller ID on the phone, even as advanced as my tracking systems are, is dysfunctional! This guy's a fucking genius, and he's flaunting it in our faces!" I could tell that she was severely upset not at my capture, but at the fact that Marik was just too advanced for her. This had my spirits low, and for the two weeks that I was confined without company I sulked and stared at the camera with hatred. Amane kept filling my head with criticisms, saying that if she was trapped inside the cell than she would have no problem escaping. I couldn't help but acknowledge the fact that it was true. While my pretty face and cheerful smile won me resources, Amane's clever ways around traps and puzzles got her to be among the best in crime. She would prove to be a match for Marik if she got close enough. Marik, however, gave her courteous greetings and goodbyes, which made her only more pissed off considering he gave her his voice, his phone contact, and a connection with me.

After a while, though, I began to find it amusing. My sister was going positively insane trying to find out more about Marik, and I found it funny how she reacted to a problem that she couldn't solve. It made me almost think that she was vulnerable…a concept I hadn't associated with her ever since she became old enough to trick our parents into turning themselves in.

With my manipulation, of course.

All the same, I was extremely relieved when my doors opened and I could have another conversational companion. The only downside was that it was the very man I despised: Marik Ishtar.

"Good morning, Ryou!" he said happily, making me think of the yellow walls that were all too unsavory.

"What is it, Marik?" I said calmly. "Are you so bored with your life that you reduce yourself to visiting your prisoners?" Marik grinned at me and laughed. I scowled at him. "That wasn't a compliment."

"I choose to take it as one," he replied. There was a moment of silence as I contemplated whether or not Marik was suffering some mental handicap that prevented him from noting the behavior of the humans around him. He, in turn, looked around awkwardly and cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"Why did you come here, Marik?" I asked slowly. I was immensely confused and I wanted answers now. There was no reason for my sister's greatest enemy to kidnap me, and there was no reason that he should want to question me. I already gave him all the answers I would allow. He wouldn't hear _any_ more precious information from me-

"I just wanted to know what your favorite color was!" he chirped. "I know it's not blue. You glare at the walls as if they're bacteria-infested."

"That's because they probably are," I replied to mask my confusion. Was this another plot of Marik's? Was he trying to confuse me, lull me into a sense of comfort so that I revealed to him all that I knew? Marik tut-tutted and wagged his finger in my face.

"That's a rude way to treat your host!" he replied cheerfully. I wanted to spit at the grin on his face. "All I want to know is your favorite color! If you tell me, I'll get out!" I glared at him and lied.

"White," I murmured, glaring at the floor. He began laughing.

"White isn't a color!" he chuckled. "White's devoid of color, which is why we know it as white. Try again." I scowled at him. What if that had truly been my favorite color? He didn't seem to have any qualms dashing my hopes in such a manner!

"Fine then, black," I lied again, trying to make him leave the room. He didn't, however, instead choosing to scrutinize me with a withering look.

"Black is all the colors mixed together," he sighed. "It's not a brownish or grayish color, like those paint sets prove. It's black." Now I knew he was making things up just to find my favorite color. I began to believe that he was a human lie detector.

"Red," I said, finally speaking the truth. "Now will you get out?" Marik gave a boyish grin.

"What kind of red?" he asked. I threw my hands up in the air with frustration.

"I don't give a fuck!" I shouted. "Scarlet! Happy?"

"Very," Marik replied, grinning and nodding his head sagely. "I'll keep that in mind." After a few seconds, I growled again.

"Leave. Now," I hissed. He gave a mock bow before sauntering off. I placed a hand on my head, massaging my temples. That man…that _genius_ was so irritating!

* * *

><p>The next time Marik visited me, I had been picking my nails and watching as the residue fell onto the once-clean tiles. He gave a little snort of disgust before, to my astonishment, he sat down directly beside me and leaned over to rest his chin on my shoulder.<p>

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" I shrieked, lurching away from him.

"What's your favorite food?" he asked with an innocent look, as if he hadn't just assaulted me with his dastardly chin.

"No. There's no way _in hell_ that I'm playing this game," I sneered, ignoring him and resuming the nail-picking. He frowned at my ignorance and once again leaned his head on my shoulder. "Stop that, damn it!"

"Did you know that you swore in every single sentence to me in this visit?" Marik teased.

"Quit bitching," I snapped, before realizing that the sentence fell into his category. Marik grinned widely, knowing that I'd fallen into his trap. He didn't say anything, though, infuriating me beyond belief. "Whatever. My favorite food is steak." Marik immediately wrinkled his nose and made an impression of barfing in his hand.

"Nope, try again," he said, smiling as if my answer was a choice. He was right though, my favorite food wasn't steak. I just was baffled by the fact that he knew that it wasn't…

"Fine then, shrimp," I muttered, burying my face in my pillow. There was a pause, but Marik cleared his throat.

"Are you really such a carnivore?" he asked. I immediately snapped my gaze up at him. Did he know…?

"Creampuffs," I finally said honestly. "How the hell do you know these things?" Marik smiled at me.

"You give yourself away too easily," he chuckled. "Did you know that your every third answer was the correct one so far?" I sighed at him.

"Go away," I said exasperatedly. He frowned and interlaced his fingers together, looking at them.

"Why do you pick your fingernails?" he asked. I raised my eyebrows.

"Why are you not leaving?" I replied. Marik gave a frustrated expression, and I rejoiced slightly over the fact that I had finally gotten to him.

"I know you're lonely in here. It's a pretty dank place!" he replied, trying to keep up a semblance of cheer. "It's not fun for any of my prisoners to be in this room in particular, with its dank walls and its lack of pictures. You know, if you ask me to get you something, I can get it for you!"

"Can you get me a bulldozer so that I can demolish this place?" I mumbled crossly.

"I could, but that wouldn't destroy the place," Marik laughed, as if we were old friends who were merely joking around with one another. "My hideout is extremely reinforced so that even tanks can't penetrate it." I rolled my eyes.

"That's what she said," I joked half-heartedly. To my surprise, Marik erupted in raucous laughter. I turned to him with a freaked out expression on my face, wondering if I'd finally broken him.

"R-Ryou!" he laughed, wiping a tear from his eye. "I didn't know you had it in you!"

"…And that's what _he_ said," I replied unthinkingly, causing Marik to fall on the floor and convulse in laughter. Though his nasally voice caused my ears great discomfort, it was refreshing. I felt odd, as if happiness was positively exploding in my chest. The fact that someone who had me at his total mercy was treating me like a human and valuing my company was surreal. He obviously wasn't one of those agents who were only out to seek revenue; he actually found me funny. My face heated at that realization, and I immediately berated myself for thinking too hard about Marik meaning something to me.

"Okay, you've had your share of fun," I snapped at him. He didn't listen, too busy laughing. "What, you haven't heard these types of jokes before?" Marik seemed to sober up a little at that, his laughter finally dying down to the occasional chuckle.

"Well, I haven't heard _any_ jokes in a while," he replied, breathing heavily. "It's kind of lonely being a criminal mastermind, especially since I have my regime to fill up."

"Regime?"

"Well, you know, a bank robbery a day keeps the bills away," he said airily. "I want to eventually save up enough so that my family won't have to go hungry ever again." I raised my eyebrows, he was actually giving me a lot of valuable information. Slowly, I reached out a hand to help him up.

"Your family?" I asked, hoping that he would give me more details. To my astonishment, he got up, stretched, and walked toward the door.

"Well, I've overstayed my welcome," he said in his cheery voice. All the same, I couldn't see his face and I found with a pang in my chest that the fact bothered me. "I'll see you later, Ryou."

I didn't have the heart to tell him that I would expect his return.

* * *

><p>I found that I had less and less to tell Amane the more Marik relayed his thoughts to me. I knew that Amane was starving for information, but I ended up saying things like "oh, the usual happened today" or "it's very lonely here" without telling her about Marik's constant visits in the flesh. I was beginning to enjoy Marik's visits, which always started out with "What's your favorite something-or-other?" and ended every time I managed to bring his family up. Even the slightest hint of his family would have Marik out the door. At first, I had tried to force him to leave by mentioning his family after every greeting, but I found that it got to be monotonous living on my own after a while.<p>

It was then a game of how long could I go without accidently mentioning something that related to his family. Marik's smile, touch, scent, everything about him intrigued me in a way nothing had before. I was fixated with him and only him, even when Odion visited on occasion. Eventually I became somewhat dependent on his timely visits, a dependence that sickened me. There was no way that I could live like this, wrapped around Marik's very finger. I began to wonder about the other prisoners here. Were they given this special treatment? Did Marik hold them as highly as he did me? Was I really held highly at all? These thoughts plagued me until I could stand them no longer.

"Marik," I finally asked. "Tell me about the other prisoners in this hold." Marik looked up at me from the card house he was making, but immediately went back to concentrating.

"What do you want to know about them?" he asked lazily, putting the Queen of Hearts on her side. I gaped at him. Wasn't it obvious? It seemed odd to me that he was so unaware about the fact that I would want to know how he treated others in order to know what was to be expected in my own future.

"I guess, I just wanted to know," I replied slowly. Marik noticed the change in my tone and glanced at me.

"Well, there isn't much to say," he said, shrugging. "They're all pretty boring, and they're all mostly heavily tattooed males who tried to enter my territory." I felt my eyebrows furrow.

"Do you visit them as often as you visit me? I asked, trying to hide the anxiety in my tone. I wasn't going to lie to myself; I wanted to be special in Marik's eyes. That didn't mean, however, that he had to know my selfish desires.

"Eh, not so much," he replied, stacking the cards again. "They mostly growl at me, and some even try to hurt me even when they know that they can't. I could easily beat them up, no matter how bulky they are." I rolled my eyes at his proud tone of voice. Marik's personality wasn't so much unbearable, but he could be slightly annoying at times. "So why do you ask?"

"I was just wondering, considering you come and visit me an awful lot in spite of your 'strict regime'," I teased. Marik grinned back.

"I can't help it! You're too interesting to talk to," he complimented. I felt a fierce blush cross my face, shocking the hell out of me. What was this? I traced the blush with my fingertips, glad that Marik was facing his card house. This was an…unexpected development, especially considering the fact that my sister was still in the picture.

At last Marik placed the final crowning piece onto his castle: a king of clubs and a queen of diamonds supporting each other. With an accidental slip, the queen of diamonds collapsed onto the king of clubs and caused the king of diamonds they were so carefully balanced upon to fall. With that king, the entire infrastructure came collapsing in a heap of destruction. I stared at it thoughtfully as Marik laughed and clapped his hands like a child.

"Well, I've never had a house of cards that actually stood for that long," he said happily. "We'll have to try that again. I was so close this time!"

* * *

><p>When Marik finally forgot to ask me my favorite whatever, I didn't remind him. I had this impression that he was only visiting me so often to ask that question, and I wanted to know whether his visits were going to be that way forever. This change in routine was not only welcomed, but encouraged. I made sure to be extra-nice and not-so-snarky to him, and luckily, he noticed. I was rewarded with cuddles and shy hands holding my own. We sat like that while we talked, neither of us wanting to broach the subject of our relationship. I wanted to kiss him and hold him as if he was my boyfriend, but the fact remained that I didn't know who he truly was.<p>

And that always brought me crashing back to earth.

Here was a man who was clearly beautiful. His eyes were large and expressive, full of wonder yet full of sage knowledge all the same. They met at the bridge of his nose, which protruded somewhat gracefully and declined on his upper lip, a beautiful patch of skin where a small indentation accented the point of symmetry on his face. His lips were brown and soft, making me want to touch my own to them in order to discover the extent of the softness. A delicate concave arch led my eyes from his mouth to his chin, which was strong yet not too formidable, as he was still a teenager. His chin was always devoid of stubble, as were his cheeks. So many times I wanted to run my hands over the planes of his face, free of any blemishes, and discover for myself what his cheeks looked like when they blushed. Yet the fact still remained…

Marik was a complete stranger to me. And that made him utterly dangerous.

"Ryou?" he asked hesitantly. "Is something wrong?" I didn't want to ruin my façade and tell him that he'd forgotten to ask me the routine question, but I was also afraid of him. I was afraid of the difference, of the change that was coming but was still unsaid. Marik planned this. He planned to not ask the question, and suddenly, I realized that he knew more about me than I ever hoped to know about him.

"Nothing's wrong," I replied, carefully keeping the fear out of my voice. "I'm fine. We're fine." He smiled at me and I felt a sort of panic at how attracted I was. This would have to stop soon, before I got hurt-

"Good, because I have a surprise for you," he said happily. Immediately, my curiosity piqued and I felt my fright dissipate.

"A surprise?" I asked. He grinned proudly as if he were a husband showing his wife the newest innovation to their household.

"Yes," he said excitedly. "I really hope you like it, Ryou. I paid close attention to detail." He winked and stood up, outstretching his hand to lead me to his surprise. I cautiously followed, though I had the decency to smile back at him when he showed me how proud he was. I went outside to where the phone was, but to my surprise Marik took me past that. He led me to a dark room, and a feeling of foreboding overcame me. What was I doing? Here was my enemy, taking me to a room that could, for all I know, spell my end. With a gulp, I knew that I had to enter. I didn't know anything about Marik, but I knew enough to know that he wouldn't end me this way. I trusted him in a sense, but I also trusted myself to get away from anything he had cooked up for me. I wouldn't disappoint myself or my sister by falling into an enemy trap willingly. Bracing my shoulders, I entered the room prepared to combat whatever was against me.

The smell of creampuffs was what first stopped me in my tracks. Most people couldn't smell them, but it was all too easy for me to sense the hint of vanilla in the cream; just the way I liked it. I looked around to see the walls decked in scarlet and hear the music of my favorite instrument, the flute, wafting through the air along with the smell of creampuffs. My mouth became slack as Marik pulled out a chair for me and sat me down.

"What is this?" I asked quietly. He grinned.

"This is my gift to you, for being a good friend," he replied. "Most people think that I'm the most annoying person they've ever met, and I don't feel appreciated. You, however, managed to look past my voice and see that I can be a true friend. Ryou, you gave me a chance." He lifted the covers of the dishes, revealing steak and shrimp positioned so that they complemented the lettuce underneath. I almost didn't want to eat it because it was so fancy. "Thank you, Ryou, for making me feel human again." I looked up at him slowly, then flung my arms around him. I couldn't help it. He was my worst enemy; a feared adversary. All the same, he did something heartfelt and kind just because he wanted to return the favor of friendship. At this rate, I thought deliriously, we'll be boyfriends within the next three months!

"This is amazing," I said in wonder. "So _this_ is what you were planning the entire time! I was beginning to become paranoid over the questions you kept asking me." Marik laughed and took a seat himself.

"I ask everyone their favorite things, but most don't say anything in return. Honestly, you're the only one who stuck with me the longest without making me feel like I'm some sort of child." I inwardly laughed. I _did_ think that Marik was a bit childish, but I thought of it in a charming manner.

"I think your immaturity is charming at times, but I do acknowledge that you are a genius," I replied. "You just choose not to show it too often." Marik gave me a dazzling grin.

"Finally, someone understands!" he cheered. "I don't want a relationship based on how smart I am. That makes things complicated and competitive." I felt my face heat up at the mention of a "relationship." Marik could not belong to Amane, even if she rescued me. He was mine. All mine.

The sound of it made me shiver with pleasure. No one could take him because he was mine, and I was his. It felt so right…and a dark feeling erupted within me. I had to keep it this way. No one, not Odion, not Amane, not _anyone_, could have him.

I shook myself away from these thoughts in order to engage in conversation. We had a brilliant time talking, and I finally learned about him. He answered every one of the questions that I'd answered for him, but despite the fact that I saw him as a friend and a crush, I was plotting his demise. He loved salad, I figured out, and with my resources I remembered that that particular salad came from an off-the-wall shop not too far from here. I now had an idea of where "here" was, and I tried to use it to my advantage. His favorite color was purple, and judging by the apparel he had gotten his clothing from the vintage shop downtown. I knew just what shop he went to in order to get his favorite drink, his favorite snack, and his favorite dessert. His jewelry, though antique, were polished by a service near one of my previous undercover apartments. Slowly but surely, I figured out what I had to do. With each answer Marik gave to my questions, I formulated a plot to overthrow him and regain my rightful position under Amane. I only hoped that I wouldn't have to convince her to keep Marik as my prisoner. I didn't know what I would do if it came to be that Marik was to be eliminated, like the so many other enemies that had previously caused Amane grief.

After the delicious food and dessert, Marik threw his napkin on the table and stood up. I stood up with him and he smiled at me.

"That was…really fun," he said honestly, his eyes sparkling. "I actually want to do it again, except without the high-class theme. It was a bit stuffy…" I shook my head and laughed.

"How about a picnic?" I suggested. "It's not too fancy, and we'll both have fun." I would also be able to ambush him easily if we were in a picnic, where privacy was key.

"But…um…we can't go outside," Marik said hesitantly. I drooped visibly.

"Well, then…it's okay," I replied, trying to fake a forced cheer. "We'll just have an inside picnic instead." Marik's face fell.

"I want you to have a good time…" he said. I leaned in conspiratorially.

"Then have some fun! Break the rules!" I whispered. My heart lurched at the proximity. "Live a little, Marik." Marik looked at me unsurely, but nodded quietly.

"I'll…I'll think about it," he muttered. I decided to take the ultimate gamble to cement our "relationship."

"It's a date," I whispered back, and I turned his head so that I could kiss him straight on the mouth. His eyes widened and he flailed comically before I gave him one last grin and turned around, leaving him speechless on the hallway. I had a couple of phone calls to make.

* * *

><p>The next day, Marik didn't come. Neither did he come the day after that, and soon enough, a week had passed. I had all my preparations made; I only had to give the word. But Marik…I felt my heart twinge with worry every so often when I thought of him and how we'd left things. Well, how <em>I'd<em> left things.

This was why, when he finally came to my door again, I stood straight up and formulated an apology.

"Ryou…" he said quietly. "I…we need to talk." I stared at him, my apology dying in my throat. All sorts of possibilities flew to my mind: he was going to let me go, he was going to keep me forever, he hated me, he loved me…

"What is it?" I all but squeaked. Clearing my throat, I repeated the question. Marik sighed and sat down on my bed, and to my surprise I noted a picnic basket in his right hand.

"I like you," he blurted, his face blushing. I reached out unbidden and touched his red cheek. "But I can't trust you! You're my prisoner, and I just…I can't." I felt a rush of anger, mostly because he was right.

"If you like me, you can't let petty issues like that determine your life!" I hissed. "I like you too, Marik! Are you going to let our differences keep us from doing this-" I cupped his cheek and caused him to unconsciously lean on my hand. "Or this-" I leaned in and nuzzled his jawbone, feeling him flush just as sparks coursed through my veins. "Or even this?" I gently held his face and pressed my lips against his, reveling in the softness and actually savoring it, unlike the rushed first time. Marik pulled away, however, and looked at the ground. His blush was extremely attractive, making me want to taste it. I kept my animalistic desires to myself, however, instead choosing to go on the offensive. "Did…did your siblings put you up to this?" Immediately, he looked up in shock. I stared at him darkly, and when he got up to run away, I grabbed his hand and kept him in place. "Don't run away from me, Marik!" I cried. "I want to know! I _deserve_ to know why we can't be together!" He shook his head and tried to tug away, but I only drew him close and hugged him. "Tell me, Marik." He shook his head.

"I can't," he whimpered, tears on the corners of his eyes. "They're my siblings…I have to protect them." I wiped his tears away, hushing him.

"They don't have the right to tell you what is right and what is wrong. You have that right. You're a grown human being capable of your own decisions," I cooed. He nodded slightly and buried his face in my shoulder. "I don't see any reason that you and I should not be together. We love each other, we're in the same place, and there's really no other obstacle stopping us." Other than the fact that I was about to ruin him, but that was left unsaid. "Don't let your siblings dictate your life like this." Marik gave a shuddering sigh, the picnic basket dangling awkwardly on the crook of his arm. I got up and gently got him up as well. Without a word, we made our way outside the room where he grabbed my hand and led me through twists and turns of the hallways. I eagerly followed him. Of course, I already knew where we were going. I had a few triple agents tell me the layout of the building, and I'd memorized it quickly. There was one last turn that led to the outside world, and…

We were there.

"I want to be with you, Ryou," Marik said shyly. "I guess…you were right. It's time that I made decisions for myself instead of others. I'll start by dating you." His blush was gorgeous, but it immediately left in favor of a cold pallor when one of the triple agents came down behind him and grasped his arm. "What? What's going on?" Amane's laugh suddenly echoed around the area, making Marik flinch and look at me with shock and betrayal. I felt my heart twist, but reminded myself that this was, in fact, the hardest part of the entire experience. Amane descended like an empress from the top of the building. She stood right beside me and sneered at Marik.

"You want to be with my brother?" she snorted. "I believe that that is impossible. You caused me a load of grief, you know. My friends are still teasing me about the fact that my boyfriend is made up." Marik didn't listen to her. He kept staring at me with disbelief. I smiled at him and he paled further.

"What is his verdict, Amane?" I replied smoothly. She smirked.

"Elimination," she replied. "Sure, he's a good challenge, and I wanted to beat him on my own, but it's apparent that he's not worth my time if I can't even date him. Also, his voice leaves much to be desired." I nodded, and Marik looked down. To my inner astonishment, I saw tears fall from his face.

"That's too bad, sis," I said. "I wanted to keep him." Amane looked at me quizzically.

"Brother, you know that my reputation exceeds your wants," she said. It was a warning, though she said it so casually. I nodded sagely.

"I understand."

Amane screamed when I yanked her hair up and knocked her to the floor. With her eyes full of rage, she pointed at me.

"Guards! Arrest him!" she screamed. As the guards approached, I held strong and lifted a hand in the universal "stop" position.

"I'm afraid that if you don't stop," I said coolly to the advancing guards, "The police will have to take you away." On cue, a helicopter came into view and scared the guards off. Emblazoned on its side was "Domino City Police Dept." I yanked my sister up and held her out to the helicopters as if she were a rare steak and they were hungry dogs. "I have your culprit right here," I said happily, just as we were surrounded by the force.

* * *

><p>It was funny how my story went straight through to the police. It had taken a while to forge Amane's profile, but when I did it was spotless. An advantage for me was the fact that Amane had no clue how to read the minds of others, a trait she had relied on me to uphold. Now, she was in juvenile delinquency for her crimes. I smugly wondered whether she found a boyfriend in there that was her caliber, even though the genders were kept apart. I never visited her, though my parents did. In my opinion, she just wasn't worth my time.<p>

My parents were freed, by the way. They were excused from their crimes and allowed to live peacefully. The only downside was that I couldn't be with them. After all, Amane's crime reign died and I decided to work with the law to capture elusive criminals. I had no trouble finding criminals because, honestly, I worked alongside them for so long under Amane.

I also had no trouble framing other people for Marik's crimes.

The man was lying next to me after I woke up, sleeping gently and curled so that his back was facing away from me. I looked at him with a bit of regret. Marik hadn't spoken to me with endearment ever since the betrayal, even when I'd upgraded his room to a master suite. _My_ master suite. Unfortunately, that hadn't fixed our relationship any. He still talked to me, giving me advice on how to catch the elusive criminals and sometimes even complimenting my ideas, but there was a distance that I knew would only perish with time.

At this point, however, time had passed and I'd grown desperate enough to pull all the stops. Since Marik helped me gain some closure to my familial issues, I'd help him gain some closure in his.

"Marik," I whispered, brushing away some errant strands of hair. "Marik, wake up." I watched as the deep breathing became a bit shallow before the purple eyes opened and he stared at me blankly.

"Ryou?" he said. "Ugh, just let me sleep. I've had a rough five months." I flinched a bit. He was referring to the time when he'd accepted my invitation into my room for the first time (though, to be honest, we were both dog-tired and he seemed to momentarily forget the fact that I was a jerk to him in favor of a comfortable bed). Though it stung, I kissed him on the forehead, glad that he was my boyfriend. "Is there something wrong?" he asked. "You don't usually wake me up…?"

"I have a surprise for you," I whispered. "We have to wake up and come downstairs first." Marik nodded distractedly, still suspicious.

"It's not another special picnic, is it?" he asked tactlessly. I understood that he was a bit bitter even though he'd forgiven me three months before (I'd had to beg on my knees and cover for all his crimes), but I frowned at him. I only drew hope at what was to come. After all, I knew what he was going through and I also knew how to handle it. Well, at least, I hoped I knew how to handle it…

After we got ready, we headed downstairs. I held Marik's hand gently, causing him to give me confused glances that he attempted to mask with indifference. It was adorable, but it didn't beat the expression that came next.

"Marik?" a voice called.

Marik's hand tightened around mine in utter shock.

"Brother, are you there?"

I felt Marik give me a heart pounding stare. He searched my eyes as if I was serious. I grinned back at him, albeit proudly. He suddenly let go of my hand and rushed out into the kitchen, where Ishizu was making some of his favorite koshari.

"Oh, Marik…" Ishizu sighed as her brother hugged her. Tears streaked her face as she looked at me with a glance of gratitude. "I'm so glad that you're okay…"

"Ish…Ishizu," Marik croaked, his voice raw from underuse. "Where have you been?" Ishizu wrapped her brother up in her arms and buried her face in his hair.

"I was searching for you!" she cried. "When you left Egypt I went all around America trying to search for you, only for your friend here to tell me that you were in Japan the entire time to protect Odion from crimes. Did you really think that the best way to go about that was to form a criminal syndicate of your own?" Marik looked up at her with tear-filled eyes, but also gave a semblance of happiness. He turned to me with confliction in his face and I cleared my throat.

"I couldn't stand to see you so miserable…even though I understood that you were upset because I betrayed you to the authorities," I said. "So I got Ishizu and your brother here to live with us and make you happy. Their house is right next door, so if you ever want to visit them…" I was immediately cut off.

"Ryou…" Marik said quietly. He didn't move any closer, but he maintained eye contact. "Why? I thought my presence was enough for you."

"It's not," I murmured back, reaching for him and pulling him closer. Ishizu looked on awkwardly, but thankfully I had already told her about our complicated relationship and after a promise from me to treat her brother right, she had accepted. "I want you to talk to me and care for me like before. I felt special when I was with you, and I knew that I didn't want it to end with a bust that resulted in your failure and demise." Marik looked down and wrung his hands. I stared at him harder. "I wouldn't be able to stand it if I lost you to the authorities. It's easier to escape, but it's a gamble not worth taking in my opinion. I just…" I sighed and tried to convey my feelings, but no words came out. Marik sighed as well and took my hand in his.

"Well," he said awkwardly. "Let's just…move along and call it even. I kind of miss talking to you…and to be honest, it's really hard to hold a grudge when you only messed up once." I smiled at that and nodded with approval.

"You're the reason I ever had the courage to stand up to Amane at all," I replied. "I didn't want her to take you away from me." Ishizu rolled her eyes.

"He already said yes, Ryou, so you don't need to display your affection for him in front of his older sister. Let's not jeopardize that," she teased. "Now, Odion is waiting in the den. Who wants koshari?"

* * *

><p><strong>(AN):/** Fun fact, I was going to make Ishizu say "salad" instead of koshari, but being a vegetarian, there's no way in HELL I'd eat a salad for any of my meals. It's more of a side or a snack. I'd probably be much healthier if I just ate salad all day, but I'd also have a lot less nutrition.

Please review and tell me what you think!


	19. Source

**(A/N):/ **And here I am writing fanfiction when I should be studying for my test tomorrow. What will I do with myself? At any rate, this is a more reflective story. I hope that it's to your liking! I know that it's really...out there. I personally cannot decide on how to make the beginning and ending better, but, well, that's why I'm not a novelist!

Enjoy my grotesque lack of subtlety. Trust me, it's explicitly stated what I wanted everything to be in this story. So it's not masterfully written. Don't expect it to be XD

* * *

><p>Source<p>

Listen closely, children. This story will be whispered in your dreams, but only if you listen carefully enough. Do not distract yourselves with foolish fancies, lest you overlook the legend of men, spiders, and flowers. You see, men and spiders were as indifferent to each other as the fish are indifferent to the daffodil. All at once, however, their worlds began to merge. This is what occurred in the first meeting between a human and a spider, a meeting that fostered love and betrayal. The second part of the story lists how men have come to love flowers, a story about a second chance at love, and realization.

There was once a tiny boy, no bigger than your fingernail, who was stuck in a spider's web. This spider formed a ring around the boy so that he could not break through, so that he could not loosen or snap the threads that bound him. There was once a boy whose hair shone as silver as the spider's threads, who was forced to believe that the spider knew what was best for him, that the spider was the only one who could save him in his time of need.

There was once a boy. He shared his name with the spider, and in turn the spider shared its web. Along every step, every curve, there was a thread that connected the boy to the spider. It did what no one else did; it carried him, it pampered him, it performed the boy's duties. The spider was the boy's savior, because whether he liked it or not, he needed it. It bound him, constricted him to the point of suffocation, but was also effective in providing meat for the boy, giving him shelter and preventing him from catching diseases.

The spider was all that the boy had known. He would often look at the deep brown eyes of the spider, two on each side, two on top, and four in the middle. He would be affectionate and call it "partner," as it protected him from the outside world. The spider, in turn, cemented the bond between him and his "landlord" by allowing the affection and returning it, soothing the boy when he cried and comforting him when he was scared. The spider was enormous and threatened to engulf the boy, though the boy trusted him to be a beacon of light in an otherwise cheerless world.

But soon, as it happens, a circumstance interrupted the process. The boy of spider-webs, as he was called for his hair, felt a feeling of longing for the outside world. At first, he was honest and he relayed this longing to the spider. The spider was also gentle at first, discouraging the boy's ideas and insisting upon the dangers of the outside world; insisting that he knew best. The boy was appeased, though the spider often caught him giving small stares to the forest outside. This ripple in his mind did as ripples tended to do; it grew and festered until there were giant waves crashing about the boy's thoughts, waves that threatened to escape and see the outside world for themselves.

So he kept asking, growing more resentful each time. He kept asking if the spider could allow him to go his own way, if the spider could relinquish the webs that bound him and untangle the ties that reached into his very heartstrings. The spider refused, knowing that if the host left, he would get hurt and he could be lost to the spider forever. In a weird, convoluted way, the spider loved the boy. He'd created him, protected him, nurtured him; he couldn't let him slip away. But oh, did the boy yearn. He woke up every day and fell asleep every night, wishing for the day when he would see what mysteries unfolded from the outside.

His restlessness grew as visitors approached, spiders who had lost their way and were looking to become neighbors with his own spider. The boy of spider-webs was swept up by their tales of anger, betrayal, and horror. His spider discouraged anyone from talking about the good points in the outside world, but the boy did not care. He felt that feeling some loneliness and despair was better than feeling nothing at all, caught in the tangle of his spider's web. He begged for more stories and received all that the spiders could recount, but it was never enough. He was a parched soul who couldn't be quenched. The other spiders wanted his spider to let him outside, but they knew not to cross him.

The boy was angered easily, irritable to the highest notch. Everything that the spider did for him or helped him with became a source of anger, a source of repressed fury that he let out in short bursts. It didn't help that he'd had a fly that represented his only friend. It agreed with his sentiments that the spider was a horrid trap-master, but when the fly turned against the spider and had to suffer the consequences, it pointed fingers at the boy to ease his punishment. There was no escape from the spider's trap; one path led to disaster, but adventure, and the other led to safety but an inability to do anything. There was always a coil around the boy's wrist, and even when he tried to break it, it would hold.

He was trapped, stuck, immobile. He knew every aspect of the world that he lived in, but he couldn't explore the rest of the world. He was caught in a revolving circle, web, spider, trees, web, spider…

Slowly, he felt a boiling anger in his stomach. He breathed harshly, trying to expel the influx of emotion and trying to calm himself, will himself to believe that he loved his spider, and that his dreams weren't all that important anyway. But the anger remained, and he couldn't rid himself of it. He couldn't rage and destroy any of his spider's webs for fear of ridicule and suffering, and his own self-depreciation. For he knew that the webs kept him safe, that he shouldn't fight them or the spider that carried them.

He knew that the spider was trying his best to accommodate the boy's tantrums, to make him happy, but every time the boy spoke to him, it was a jeer or a comment of some sort that was designed to make the spider loathe him. The spider wanted to make him grow his own web, to entangle himself further in a future that he didn't want. The spider was cruel, but his affection for the boy grew to a place where he couldn't bear to be in a world where his boy was nonexistent. It was a cruel circle that trapped the spider and the boy both, and it continued until the boy became a man.

The moment when the boy realized that he was strong enough to break some of the webs at his utmost strength, he knew that he'd become a man. No matter how tight the bounds were, the man could break free with a sweep of his hand. The spider was horrified, and he took the time to wrap the man into a tight cocoon to try to stop him from escaping. The man hadn't wanted to escape without the spider's permission, but as the spider's relentless reign continued, the man was further encouraged to leave without approval; leave the spider without saying goodbye.

It was the moment the ripple reached the shore as a wave. No, as a tsunami. The colossal impact was inevitable, but necessary. The man's cocoon was tight enough to turn him blue from the lack of air, and it was the moment of truth. If he stayed with the spider, he would never live his life fully, but he would live long. If he left the spider, he would live with the satisfaction of knowing what was out there, and having a chance at true happiness. But he wouldn't live long; he would die as soon as he met an enemy that would overcome him.

The spider knew that he was powerless to interfere with the man's life. He knew that the man could break his web in a manner of seconds, and furthermore, that the man respected him enough to wait. He just didn't know if it would last…if the man could wait forever for him. The terrifying moments when a wave is just about to crash is timeless: it stands still and while one is unable to stop it, it lasts for what seems like days but is only seconds. As the web tightened and tightened around the man, he felt his vision slip, his breath grow heavy, his form start to slump. He would belong here forever if this moment of truth passed.

And so, he raised his arm. The action caused a loud tearing sound that resonated from the spider's entire web. The man couldn't stop once he'd started, and continued to tear obsessively, getting a sick, overwhelming pleasure in breaking what once he'd considered sacred. He felt sinful; a vandal. He watched the spider's web fall apart with his own hands, and though he knew that his hair would always remain white as the spider's web, he wouldn't be known as the man of spider-webs. He looked to the clouds as the webs fell beneath him, knowing that he didn't have enough time to linger. Turning to what once was his only friend, the fly, he smiled and shook his head.

"I am now the man of clouds," he said. "I will not be imprisoned, but will fly as freely and carelessly as the vapors in the sky." The fly said nothing, not even a small whine. The fly knew that when the spider returned, it would feast upon the fly's remains because the man was leaving, and therefore didn't need any companionship. The fly's fate was sealed, and it only lowered its gruesome head in acceptance. Though the fly had betrayed him and caused him punishment, the man felt a small pity. He knew, however, that if he released the fly, it would never leave him alone and its whine would easily alert the spider as to the man's whereabouts. With a longing glance, the man left the fly to its fate, long overdue.

His journey was bleak. There was, after all, no one to help him and no one to reassure him that he was, indeed, going the correct path to where he wanted to go. The man felt his legs grow weak and finally collapsed on the ground, weary and hopeless. The clouds in the sky were gray, heavy with rain, and he could only bow his head when the drops finally fell. It was his first obstacle, this rain, but already, he felt like he'd made the wrong decision in making himself the man of clouds. Each drop felt like a physical weight on his back, discouraging further movement but also mocking him. Here was the man of clouds, the man that they were borne from. Here he was with no food, shelter, or company to encourage his voyage, to be the wind under his wings. The man faced the bitter realization with a stern face. He was alone, unprotected by the web of home and the spider that didn't dare let anyone touch him. There was no one there who cared about him, no one who would care to help him in his time of need.

But he also remembered how he was trapped at his home. There was a decision to make, one which he had to fulfill in order to be happy. He could either return, or continue in the face of such adversity. If he returned, he'd never be able to soar the way he'd always envisioned. If he returned, he would never be able to live his life with a hint of danger, a hint of choice. The spider would steer him away from any sort of danger, and no doubt it would double its defenses until the man wouldn't have a prayer of getting free.

The choice was made even before he finished his thought. He had to carry on and see where the road would take him, despite the raindrops that felt like pinpricks of betrayal on his back.

Now, children, you have heard of the story of the spider. It is not quite over yet, but the story of the flower begins in the middle, and ends at the same time. As you can see, the man is in the middle of a trial. He had loved the spider, but he had betrayed it as well because it couldn't adapt to him as he couldn't adapt to it. Now he has a second chance, and we shall see if this love will work…

When the rain finally let up, the man felt relief. The sun was shining on his back and trying the earth around him, making him feel safe in its glow. The glistening rain on his skin was somewhat of a film that allowed him to slip through small holes and crevices in the roots and branches of trees. He smiled to himself. It turned out that the rain was a blessing in disguise after all. The man felt empowered, as if there was nothing that could stop him. He'd braved the rain, and he glowed as the droplets reflected the sun. He imagined that he was imbued with magic, which was the reason why he shone so beautifully. It was all going to turn alright. He was invincible.

So he went forward, and decided to overlook his hunger and thirst. The rain stayed on him, signifying that he'd won his challenge, and the next rainy days represented only the opportunity to quench his thirst. He was optimistic, but he was also very foolish. He strode through the grass without a care in the world, letting his bare feet sink into the earth and carelessly watching the skies for signs of clouds. While the spider had been cautious and protective, the man was ignorant and clumsy.

It was expected that he'd get in trouble. He was eating food that he found on the ground or plucked off a tree, even stealing from what was clearly someone else's garden. Everyone began to hear of the tiny parasite, eating fruits and vegetables in small amounts but leaving none for the other neighborhood creatures. The man took acorns from squirrels, bugs from birds, and even nuts from monkeys. He feasted everyday from the food, not caring about anyone else but himself. His comeuppance came when the creatures finally left food out on their doorways, intentionally poisoned. Squirrels left poisoned mushrooms, birds left rotting worms, and monkeys left spoiled food that they themselves had stolen from the village.

It was while eating a spoiled pomegranate that the man suddenly bent over and retched, the past foods finally forcing his body to react.

"What…" he moaned, retching again and watching all the contents of his past lunch splay before him. "What is happening?" He panicked. Never before had he had to deal with the experience of his own body betraying him. The spider had always ensured that all the food was of the best quality. The man had never had any issues growing up, and for the first time, he seriously considered going back to the spider and taking his eternal stay. The thought of a disease in his own body, a body that he'd lived with all his life, was horrifying. The man found himself curling up and crying into his knees. He missed his spider. His spider could make all of this go away…

"You're the thief, aren't you?" a voice called softly. The man started and looked up, shaking. There was a flower in his path, a man who had purple wings and purple eyes. He was beautiful, a clear amethyst in the man's view of despair. The flower leapt from the leaf that he'd settled in and wrapped his arms around the man, trying to comfort him. "It's alright, you seem innocent. You've recently gotten inducted into manhood, haven't you? It's a wonder why you're so small…" The man took this comfort and buried his face into the flower's chest. He hadn't known how much he'd missed companionship. He felt the sobs shaking him as his body heated uncomfortably and his bile rose in his throat. Knowing what was to come, he turned his head and retched miserably. "Oh, you need immediate help…I'll ask some of my friends if they can spare some medicine…" And with that, the flower, turned to leave. Immediately, the man's arm reached out and grabbed the cloth of his robe.

"Don't go…" he choked. "Don't leave me stuck here…"

"I'm only leaving for a moment," the flower protested, but finally obliged and remained with the man, doing the best that he could in aiding him. "You have to calm your stomach," the flower insisted. "And then you have to eat something that's fresh." The man shook his head, sweat coursing down his face. The mere thought of food disgusted him, making him want to wretch even more. The flower sighed and looked away. The man held on to him, not letting him leave, but he knew that the only way to save the man was to heal him. Once the man was asleep, he made his way to the herbs and plants that made up his community.

"Hello?" he called. "Rosemary?" Immediately, a green vine sprouted, then grew at his summons.

"Ah, Marik!" the plant said gently. "Care to taste my specialty?"

"As always, Rosemary, that is a negative," Marik grouched. The plant was like a grandmother to him, an overbearing grandmother who constantly claimed that he was underfed. "I have a man who is in need of dire help." Rosemary looked past him at the man of clouds, gasping as he moaned in his sleep.

"Oh! The poor dear!" she exclaimed. "You fool! Why didn't you get him some of that tonic that you drink every day? It's a cure-all!" The flower immediately recollected the fact that his tonic was necessary for his growth. It was, in fact, water. Water, of course, is the best tonic for any flower, fairies included. The flower flitted over to a leaf that held a copious amount of water. Silently communicating to the grapevine that held it, he gently eased the leaf out of its longstanding place at the vine's side and brought it down to the man.

The man was slowly nursed back to health. As the flower nursed him, he told stories of danger and peril that resulted in either victory or defeat. The man saw the world in the flower's eyes as short, yet fruitful. The flower said that he didn't have long to live, but he was constantly reborn every season. The man found this concept to be thrilling. How many lives had the flower lived? Though the fairy couldn't remember them all, he'd heard many stories from his elders and had enjoyed them immensely enough to tell them to his new friend. The man was quickly given back his health just as the stories ended, and the flower ran out of them.

The man didn't speak much to the flower, as it chattered enough for them both, but he did let out a longing glance to the horizon, and in that glance many words were spoken that the flower could not answer. You see, children, man hadn't completely explored every inch of the world, and there was still much to discover. Our town of Domino hadn't even been thought of, as man hadn't quite reached the Americas. So our man of clouds still felt the need to explore, to find his own path and journey to places that he had never seen.

And the flower understood. Unlike the spider, the flower came from a bearing more similar to the man's. It had begun as a seed, which had traveled by wind, bird, and sea to where it was now. The flower was accustomed to the need to explore, as well as the need to settle. One day, it knew that the man would be back. Their love was one that was shared, but it wasn't meant to limit the other. Also, the man wasn't ready for the degree of love that the flower wanted. So the flower set him free, doting on him the way Rosemary doted on the flower.

There wasn't a single day where the flower didn't cross the man's mind. Every morning, he would think of how the flower constantly looked at the sky for the sun. Every night, he heard the calming chatter of the flower as it hummed a favorite song or told him about what he'd encountered that day. But eventually, time withers the brain. Years had passed, and the man thought of the flower fleetingly. His love for it had waned with the distance between them.

Around this time, the man was wizened and old. He'd seen sea monsters, Indian natives of the Americas, the first launch of the space shuttles, and the devastation of cancer. He knew all medicines and he'd figured out some of the mysteries that hid in the outer space. But just as suddenly, he thought of the flower and how he had seen smaller things, things that were now miniscule in his eyes. He had seen the nature that the plants healed themselves, their personalities. It had seen how a single shift of a pebble could alter the entire course of an anthill, how that alteration could move the birds, the trees, the livestock, the Earth. It had seen everything that was so small in the man's eyes but was so large in the history of the world. While the man's dreams were large, the flower's dreams were infinite, consisting of possibilities that erupted from minute details.

He missed him. So he journeyed back to where it had been, to where it had sheltered and nurtured him until he was ready to explore the world.

Now, children, by this time the man represents the human race as it is now. We, the humans of today, undermine nature and its way of living, a miracle in itself. The man represents the part of us that longs for the times when life was simpler, yet complex because of the need to by nurtured by nature. You see, we still look to articles of nature as paradise, and we always wish to experience the most exotic of fruits and vegetables. We look to nature with reverence, and are on a constant exploring streak to discover some new articles of nature, such as a new planet or species. And what of technology? We are discovering our own instinctual functions by reverting to ergonomic inventions, and we are trying to harness nature with others to have it bend to our will. Nature and humankind are tightly intertwined. This man and his flower, they are also tightly intertwined.

The man found Rosemary tending to her leaves. He stared at her until she noticed him, still devoid of words in the majesty of the world around him.

"Welcome, visitor," she said harshly. "Care to use me as one of your dishes? Perhaps you've discovered that my herb causes less pain in your joints." The man didn't say a word. Clearly, the plant had suffered the attempts of his fellow brethren to harness nature, and was feeling bitter. To this day, most herbs taste bitter to the human tongue, though they are healthy. This is why they are seasoned on meals as opposed to being eaten by themselves. The man straightened, and finally spoke.

"I'm looking for the flower," he said slowly. Rosemary eyed him angrily.

"I do not know of whom you speak," she said icily. "Go far and never return." The man of clouds grew cold suddenly, and his stare became as heated as hers was icy. Suddenly, the environment grew unbearably arid, as the man now had the ability to control the weather. The plants around him began to wither, and Rosemary grew panicked.

"Stop!" she finally cried. "You'll kill him if you continue like this!" Immediately, the man of clouds stopped, but remained tense. Rosemary eventually relented, feeling the weight of worlds sagging on her stem. She wordlessly directed the man to a flower that was slowly withering away. Inside, the man found the flower, _his_ flower, wilting and gasping with every breath. The man held out a shaking hand, but every time he neared, the flower began to brown and destroy itself. The fairy was slipping away from the edges of life. The man wept as he brought himself closer to what he had had. Just then, a raspy voice halted his progress.

"You'll kill him regardless of your will." The man turned to the spider, who had aged a good many years as well. "He has suffered immense damage by your hand. Your exploration has caused the destruction of the natural world, what with your pollution and cruelty. There is no such thing as a perfect world, but you had the closest to it before you ever left." The man fell to the ground, crying bitterly. The spider continued. "You wanted power, recognition. You wanted to know the world, which was innocent enough, but now you control it. You are one article of nature trying to combat everyone else. You should have never left."

"I should have never left!" the man cried mournfully, finally understanding. Rosemary sighed and shook her head in disappointment. The power fell to the likes of _this_ man? This buffoon who had killed and ruthlessly conquered anyone and anything that stood in his way?

"No…" a voice suddenly called. The entire world stilled as the man of the clouds, no, the _world_ froze at the voice. "There is always another chance." The flower stood from what was his sickbed. He pushed away from his safe haven with the strength of childlike hope. "There is always rebirth. I've seen it…all these years." The man stared at him as he made his way to him. Rosemary frowned.

"You have no strength, my flower," she chided gently. "You lived for a long time…you waited so long, longer than you were supposed to, for this man who left you for a good many centuries…" The fairy eyed her, and the man's eyes widened in realization. His flower had stayed alive all this time for him. His flower had survived endless winters and droughts, all for him. He didn't move as the flower slowly enveloped him in his arms.

"I love you," the flower whispered shyly. "I knew you'd come back. So I waited."

"You shouldn't have," the man choked. "You should have left. I would have understood."

"I know," the flower replied, holding the man tighter. "But you need me as much as I need you. You are my inspiration, the spark that fuels me. You are capable of beauty as well as destruction." The man closed his eyes and groaned. The flower edged on. "It's time for a rebirth," it said gently. "You are tired, and I am old. It's time to start anew, until we can both get it right." The man kissed him then, not to stop the beautiful words but to absorb them. He wanted the flower to continue spilling forth such hope forever, even as the dirt was brought around them and the clouds disappeared under the sheen of earth that represented the beginning stages of their metamorphosis. They died intertwined, but they waited for a second chance, a way for them to coexist peacefully without combating each other over power.

So, my children, this is how we end the tale. We are currently in a new life, a new chance to perform our duties to the best of our ability. Your father and I are doing our best to rear you in a way that would make nature proud, and we are trying not to stifle you the way the spider stifled its charge. As long as we try for peace and beauty, we can do no wrong. Now off to bed! You've had your story, so now it is time to wait for the new day.

* * *

><p><strong>(AN):/ **Graaah I can't tell you how much I hate the ending line. Like, I want to kill it. Smash it up into little bits. But, once again, I have no idea how I'd do this.

At any rate, leave a review if you've got the time! ;D


	20. Trust

Trust

As a child, I had quite a bit of trouble with mathematics. The other children would understand the lecture almost instantly, reciting their numbers as if there was nothing to it, but I couldn't quite grasp the fact that one and one made two. How did two such separate entities make a whole new one? It was as foreign as alchemy, turning lead into gold. It took me too long to figure out that I, just as the other kids in my class, merely had to grin and bear it, consider the fact an untold truth that did not have to make sense for it to be valid.

But the concept never stuck with me. I humored my instructors who would come to my house to school me in the basics of math, despite the fact that their numbers changed without reason or rhyme. Why did three times three make nine? Why was the derivative of 3x squared plus 8x minus 4 merely 6x plus 8? What was the motivation? Why did people find a need to change the numbers that way?

That's what consumed me for the entirety of my preliminary education. Things weren't much different for me after I got to college, except that I received a taste of…purpose.

In chemistry, everything had a purpose. Water gained heat because the hot metal lost the same amount of heat and distributed it to the water. Ice gained heat from the water, even though the water was cold to the touch, because everything had a certain level of heat, unless it was at absolute zero. I understood, and suddenly I wasn't Ryou the unknowing, but Ryou the genius. I would balance chemical equations and understand each concept I was provided with the most basic of terms. Despite my inhibition of over addition, subtraction, and the all-too-horrible logarithms, I did not allow my previous knowledge stunt me, rather, I forced myself to utilize them without question.

"Hey!"

A voice jarred me from my thoughts.

I was sitting in a café, nursing a lukewarm coffee. It was a rainy day, which, honestly, wasn't too big of a surprise considering the precipitation on the hills of the city was incredibly high. I looked over tiredly to the voice who'd called me and felt my fatigue lighten a bit, though I could not for the life of me understand why that would be so.

Marik had been my best friend for three years, ever since I started my college education. He was a business major, however, while I was an engineering major. The only reason we actually came to know each other was through an elective, English. I understood the class completely, and Marik…well…

"So what we going to do today?" he asked me, glancing at my coffee with distaste. "Boring! Let's go to park!" Marik was not fluent in English. In fact, his diction and syntax used to be much worse before I took him under my wing, not knowing how to perform the most basic of terms such as "describe" and "explain." It was an introductory English class, and Marik had been an introductory student, but he'd still had trouble. I was only taking it so that I could get my general education out of the way. I was more than qualified for the class amongst the foreign people, and I offered to help them as I did Marik, but I found that my schedule was too busy to accommodate all of them.

It didn't help that Marik took up all of my free time.

"Come on!" he urged. "Park!"

"But it's raining!" I protested. "I didn't even bring an umbrella, and I'm certainly not going to catch a cold just because you've decided that you want to play out in the rain!" Marik pouted.

"But it's fun!" he retorted. "You always said playing in the rain is fun, and now I want to do it and you say 'no!' You a liar!" I pouted straight back, though it was ineffective seeing as I couldn't match Marik's look of childish disdain. As the youngest sibling of his entire family, Marik had that look down pat. His only flaws were the rippling muscles of his exposed forearms that threw off any childish theme he was trying to pull off.

"Remember Marik," I chided. "There's always a verb in every sentence, except certain colloquial fragments." Marik rolled his eyes.

"You _are_ a liar," he corrected, huffing. "And you _are_ coming with me!"

"I most certainly am not!" I said with authority. "I must go and study for my Calculus final. I have no time for nursing a cold." Marik frowned, but I knew that he wouldn't push it. For now, he pulled up a chair and sat across from me.

"You are no fun," he whined. "Always reminiscing about your past. I hating it."

"Hate it," I corrected by force of habit. Marik nodded, equally by force of habit.

"Hate it," he repeated, tasting the words on his tongue. "Yes, that sounds more right."

"More accurate," I corrected yet again. He gave me a lopsided smile.

"We are not in English no more, Ryou," he said sweetly, the mind of a child showing through his man's face. "You do not have to learn me the basics, even if I do mess sometimes." I chuckled, nodding.

"Yeah, I just can't help it sometimes," I replied. He understood, reaching over and taking my hand. Marik always understood my little inconsistencies, even when they offended others. There was a reason I spent most of my time in seclusion, after all…

"You're doing it again," Marik's voice filtered inside my head. I turned away from the rainy window to his inquisitive purple eyes. "You are reminiscing without restraint." I smiled at him.

"This is the proper weather for reminiscing," I replied casually. "Perhaps we should do so together?" Marik rolled his eyes.

"Since we are only people in here that are not alone, let's," he grumbled, placing his cheek on the heel of his hand and balancing his elbow on the table. I pondered over his words for a bit, realizing that we were, indeed, the only people at the café who weren't alone and staring off into nothingness. Most of the people were men and women who were filled with regret, if the frowns on their faces as they drank their coffee weren't enough indication. Marik, however, didn't allow me to regret, and for that I appreciated him all the more.

"Remember when we first met?" I began, sliding my eyes down to my coffee in order to prevent Marik from seeing my flush. Marik laughed, filling the café with a cheery air.

"How could I forget?" he replied, traces of laughter still in his voice. "You were embarrassed when I said you were tutor to me. We didn't know other, and I said it loudly so entire class hears." I glared at him with mock resentment.

"Believe me, the humiliation is as clear as day," I grumbled. "You even came up with a schedule that I had to modify later. Thank goodness I was taking mostly electives my first semester, else you would be in serious trouble, no?" I enjoyed seeing as his pout returned and his demeanor became considerably humbled. Drumming his fingers on the desk and tapping his foot annoyingly on the tiled floor, Marik was clearly formulating a retort.

"If I did not do saying out loud, you would not do nothing," he reasoned. I knew he was going for that angle, so I merely smirked and gave a rebuttal of my own.

"Why would that be a bad thing?" I asked. He grinned.

"Because you will contemplate the reason for living for the rest of the life." I frowned. He'd brought up a good point, as that what I seemed to do every time Marik found me. Smiling at my wounded pride, Marik brought his hand on top of mine. "I won't let you, I promise." My flush increased, as did my heart rate. How could he be so darn charming?

"Okay, fine," I conceded. "We'll go out into the rain. But when I get sick, my medical costs are coming out of your budget." Marik leaned back and gripped his chest with the hand that had been on mine.

"Oh, for honest?" he said dramatically, moving the hand on his chest to his forehead. "Oh, I feel bless! The great and almighty Ryou decides to play with me!" I hissed at him to shut up and tried to avoid the amused glances at the people around us, some even younger than I was. Marik laughed at my discomfort but didn't push his luck, grabbing my hand and dashing outside. He started singing a little song in Arabic that perked my ears and made my heart dance a jig inside my body. He really did have a marvelous singing voice, even if it was a bit nasal. He managed to work it well.

He then belted out the lyrics to an old Backstreet Boys song loudly into the rain, making me choke on laughter at its hideous expiration in popularity.

"'Cause I want it that way!" he positively screamed into the sky, holding out his uncovered forearms to the sky. I was stooped and out of breath from running out into the rain and laughing at his crazy singing. Marik suddenly linked his arm with mine and skipped us both around, as if we were children as opposed to college students. "Come and sing with me, Ryou!" I shook my head, too consumed with laughter. Marik grinned at my inability to eloquently form a sentence, and as if I could laugh any harder, he began singing the high falsetto voice of Britney Spears.

"I'm Mrs. Lifestyle of the Rich and Famous, _you wanna piece of me?"_ he sang, alternating between the high voice and the deep voice. My face was positively red from laughter, masked by the rain, and for once I actually feared death by amusement. I lightly tapped Marik's arm, indicating that I needed to rest. He started bursting into giggles just as I collapsed on the muddy ground, my diaphragm heaving up and down trying to catch up to the amount of laughter. The image of Marik throwing his head back and belting out American lyrics so satirically was the funniest thing I've ever seen. I found myself wondering why I didn't want to come in the first place.

"Ah, ah! You thinking again!" Marik chided, flicking my forehead and making me giggle like a child inadvertently. "Come come! I know you know the lyrics!" He hoisted me up and we once again set off to the direction of the park, his voice urging me to sing as I fervently denied his requests.

When at last we made it, Marik immediately headed for the swings. The strange part was that he wasn't childishly racing towards the swings or joyfully skipping, but rather solemnly walking over to them and gently sitting down, seeing if they were able to hold his weight before gently moving back and forth. I wanted to sit down next to him, but in the three years that I knew Marik I knew that he also needed time to himself. So I waited. I didn't mind waiting in the rain. Marik wasn't one who took forever when he knew that there was someone who waited for him in the sidelines.

Finding that I had nothing else to do, I shamefully wandered back to the time when I had first realized that Marik needed his alone time. It was back in the first semester of college when we had decided to have a tutoring session and a picnic with a group of other classmates who were studying for math as opposed to language. I meandered through both groups, tutoring Marik then exchanging ideas with others while he was busy on an assignment I'd given him. At one point, I turned back around to see that he was not where I had left him, and I scanned the area to see that he was wandering away from the area. I asked my classmates to hold on for a second while I went to fetch him, but one of them tried to stop me. As I recalled, it was Shaadi, who was Marik's roommate due to both of their Arabic origins.

"He likes his privacy," he said calmly. "He will return." I wasn't convinced, and I wanted to get him back, but I hadn't known him at the time, and I heeded Shaadi's advice. Sure enough, Marik returned as cheerful as he'd been before I'd left him, and I decided to shower him with attention, thinking that that was why he left.

"Ryou!" Marik called from the swings, done from his little spell. "Ryou! You're doing it again!" I shook myself out of it with the parting thought that Marik simply needed his alone time, not because of any lack of attention, but just because he was Marik. I hurried to the swings, grabbing hold of one and sitting down cautiously, seeing if it could hold my weight as well. Marik grinned apologetically.

"I'm sorry I think," he said, guilt evident in his voice. I shook my head.

"It's no problem. I understand that you need time to yourself," I replied. He gave me his lopsided grin.

"That's weird. You say that you not like things when they don't have sense, but you accept my reason even though," he replied. I felt my eyes widen. For all my thoughts, I had never quite considered this one.

"You're right," I muttered, a bit surprised. Marik smiled and ruffled my head slightly. I liked the feel of his fingers patting my hair, and I only wished that he wasn't merely ruffling it as if I was some pet.

"I let you think," he resolved. "For letting me think. It's nice to think in the rain, isn't it?" I nodded, already gone. I contemplated why I simply understood Marik's need to be alone, why it didn't bother me as much as the fact that numbers changed without reason. There was no exact reason that Marik thought. I'd asked him once, but he'd denied that he needed it to reminisce, as I did, or that he needed it to collect his thoughts. It was just…thinking. He had tried to explain that it was like making his mind exercise, but I hadn't quite understood.

But the strangest part was that I was _fine_ with it.

I came out of my reverie to see that Marik was already swinging, his long body arching backwards as he glided down, then sitting back up as he moved back. He looked like a zephyr that one could see, gliding through the rain as if mimicking an ocean breeze. His skin was mottled with raindrops that served to make him seem more ethereal, especially since I could hear fragments of his Arabic song filtering through my ears. I moved as well, back and forth, but my eyes never left his form. He had a blissful smile on his face as he glanced at me occasionally, not bothered by the fact that I couldn't seem to stop staring at him. If I was an artist, his would be the first portrait I would paint. There was no comparing his beautiful smile and happy eyes, so knowing of the world yet still so optimistic.

It took my breath away, and suddenly the pieces of the puzzle clicked together.

I was in love with this man.

* * *

><p>The realization was a sobering one that kept me holed up in my room for the entire weekend. Amidst my studying I saw the image of Marik's face looking up at me, pouting in that way of his.<p>

"You didn't see me today," his voice protested on the answering machine. "Come soon. I am bored." How could I tell him that I dreamt of kissing him after saying goodnight? How could I say that he reminded me of happiness and filled me with unconventional whimsy? Above all, how could I convince him that he meant the world to me, and if he merely tolerated my feelings I would be ecstatic to have him?

My two days of "relaxation" were filled with his voice and his body. My nights were filled with thoughts over whether he missed me (which was evident by his amount of calls) and what I would say to him when I saw him next. There were no ideas that came to mind that didn't sound ridiculous.

So I turned my thoughts to something else for the last portion of my second day, when I had no more work to be done and I was staring at the ceiling from my bed. I thought about how his mannerisms didn't bother me as much as they should have. After all, my little sister did the same thing as Marik did with her little "thinking spells," but I was filled with resentment for not knowing why she did it. I still felt a bit of annoyance, but with Marik, I felt as if the behavior was completely natural and acceptable. It was beyond strange. I found my entire life's perspective being unraveled due to one man.

This would certainly take longer than one weekend, and I called Marik up to tell him, in my wavering voice, that I had a cold and I'd only be able to make my classes before going straight home.

* * *

><p>In my dreams, I saw the child that sat in the front of the room, constantly raising his hand for questions that the teacher was frustrated to answer. Why was the color yellow so bright compared to the color blue? Why did the sky look blue? What was the meaning of shaking hands, and why was it custom compared to merely greeting someone? It was all baffling.<p>

Then, immediately, everything would shift. I would see Marik's mysterious smile as he was thinking of something for us to do, something that I hadn't done before but that wasn't outside of my comfort zone. I saw Marik answering every one of those questions just with his presence: Why was he color yellow so bright compared to the color blue? That would be because Marik's jewelry excited my eyes so that I my heart filled with brightness. The rods and cones reflecting light in the amount that made yellow "bright" in my eyes immediately zeroed onto Marik's hair, how it looked when it was in the sun.

Why did the sky look blue? Because my atmosphere revolved around the ones I loved here on Earth, lightening the presence of dark matter in the sky in a concentrated area due to the sun's rays. The atmosphere around Marik was always so much brighter, as he always visited me during the day and we've only had a few instances where he actually stayed over after a particularly grueling tutoring session. His arms reaching for the sky as if the entire universe was in his grasp…that was why the sky was blue, for people like Marik who is the apple of everyone's atmospheres.

Why did people shake hands instead of greeting one another traditionally? That one was the easiest to answer, and I felt somewhat silly for asking it as a child. My mother used to hold me and rock me to sleep when I cried for not knowing as much as the other children. My father took me by the hand and taught me all my questions so that I could catch up with the other students by knowing the "why's" for everything. My sister used to smack me upside the head and say that it didn't matter, just accept it and move on. But now, when my family was hours away and Marik was the only one by my side, I saw his eager eyes sparking with ideas as he grabbed my shoulders firmly. I felt his hand ruffling my hair when he thought I was childish. I felt contact, which was why people shook hands. Shaking hands implied a bond, something you would want to feel with your coworker or new boss. It was why professional relationships entailed shaking hands while friendships entailed bear hugs, such as the ones Marik always gave me.

The fact that all of my questions were being answered without a second thought frightened me. I couldn't stop. Why can't we swing a full revolution on the swing? Because the chains are not completely straight once Marik reaches his highest point, so they cannot carry the momentum and he comes back down to me. Why was a stack of papers so dense? Because like Marik's personality, it came with many layers and little empty space. Why did we feel love and hate? Because of people like my family and Marik, who become so attached to me so that they are a part of me, so that I love them being here, and hate them being gone. Why? Because of Marik.

I was definitely head over heels, and the realization caused me to feel a bit sick. I threw myself into my studies, and though that worked, I soon felt like a coward. It was only the second day of the week, and already I was done thinking? Already I was done looking for solutions on how to deal with this new…thing with Marik?

A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts. The knock was insistent, and I knew that it could only be one person. One insistent, stubborn-as-hell harpy who constantly chased at my heels like an enraged puppy.

"Mai," I said exhaustedly, opening the door for the stylish woman who had narrowed eyes and a sneer that could send thousands of men to their knees. "What is it?" Mai shoved past me and allowed herself in.

"You know _exactly_ what it is, Ryou!" she snapped. "You're avoiding Marik!" I growled in my head. What was with her? She was so volatile, so easy to set off. Mai went on. "You always say that Marik is your best friend and that he means a lot to you, but here you go turning him away and giving him the half-assed excuse that you're 'sick!'" I frowned at her.

"Look, I don't know why you think that you're Marik's keeper or something, but what's between Marik and me is just that. I don't need your constant interference!" I replied testily. Mai narrowed her eyes. She had known Marik from her senior year in high school, and had seen him bullied relentlessly for his manner of speech and his sexuality. Ever since then, she'd been protective and much like a mother hen when it came to Marik. I always found her a nuisance, but Marik always spoke highly of her and I couldn't stand it. How did she become closer than me? It still managed to make me scowl, even knowing that Marik and I were now closer than she was to Marik.

"If you're trying to hurt him, Ryou, so help me…" she warned. "I don't know why you're avoiding him, but it's obvious that you're not sick-" I raised an eyebrow, pointing to my red nose and pale complexion. "-well, not sick enough to warrant avoidance!"

"I don't want him to catch a cold, now do I?" I replied. I was pissed off at her holier-than-thou attitude, because honestly, what made her the authority on every one of Marik's relationships? "I still call him every now and again! And for goodness sakes, Mai, it's only Tuesday! You're acting like if I spend a day without Marik I'm bullying him!" Mai glared at me.

"Don't pull that bullshit with me, Ryou Bakura. That's how he lost all of his friends, you know," she snapped. I knew what she was going to say before she went off on her rant. Marik had had friends in high school, but they'd treated him as if he was to be pitied; an accessory to preserve their good graces. I sighed miserably, all the fight gone. I was sick, I was confused, and both of those factors contributed to a headache that was threatening to put me into bedrest. All I wanted was to go to Marik, tell him how I felt, and crawl back under a rock and pretend that it never happened.

I ignored Mai's glower in favor of delving into my memories. I remembered the first thing Marik had said to me when we became friends.

It was a tutoring session that was also a joint birthday outing. Marik had insisted on taking me to a day at the park when he realized that he'd had me tutor him on the day of my birthday. I hadn't cared. After all, a birthday was just that, a day of your birth. Survival wasn't that big of a deal to me, and I believed that that "holiday" was as trivial as any other day.

"My favorite part park is swings," Marik had said. His English had been worse, but it was improving so rapidly that I marveled at his capacity to learn every time I saw him again. I smiled at him.

"My favorite part of the park is the slides, though I dare not go on them," I replied. He glanced at me quizzically.

"Why no go on slide?" he asked. I smiled, anticipating the question.

"Because I'm far too old now. I'd probably break it," I replied. Marik had laughed, but he'd agreed. The slide was one that reminded me of my childhood and the days my sister had dared me to go off of our own slide backwards. I sustained many bruises, but the memory of triumph and the thrill of the unknown was too good of a memory to disregard.

"Hey Ryou?" Marik had said, not looking at me. I'd glanced at him, hearing the reserve in his voice that wasn't the norm.

"Yes? What is it, Marik?" I'd asked. He had cleared his throat.

"I'm gay," he had replied as if he'd been stating the weather. I had felt my face redden to my ears at his declamation, and I'd only feared what came next… "But I don't want date no one." There'd been a pause. "I know people look and say 'slut,' but I don't want date. I want friends only. So if people try to date, I say no." I had stared at the back of his head, wondering why he was telling me this. But I hadn't questioned, and he hadn't supplied me with a reason. We eventually began to exchange banters and jokes as we normally did, ignoring the situation entirely. Mai hadn't approved at the time, and I doubted that she still approved of our ignorance, but she wouldn't push it at Marik's insistence.

I pulled out of my reverie with a resolve. I wouldn't, _couldn't_, tell Marik that I was in love with him for fear that he would reject my feelings.

"Ryou, what's wrong?" Mai asked. Her voice seemed defeated. "I know that we're not the greatest friends in the world, but I can't help but feel worried." She was finally losing her initial anger. I turned away from her and glared at the couch.

"There's nothing wrong with me," I bit out. "Now leave me alone and get out of my house. If it makes you feel better, I'll visit Marik next week." Anything to get her to leave so that I could _think_.

"You'd better," she sniffed, her concern still lingering but minute compared to her regard for Marik. "He's been asking about you for days, as if I'd seen you about." I flinched a bit. Marik didn't deserve my ignorance. Even if I had a "cold," I hadn't completely stopped all communications with him. He deserved an explanation. With a sigh, I felt myself return to the world.

"I'll talk to him. I'll tell him what's wrong," I said resolutely. Mai gave a curt nod before heading off towards the door. "And Mai?" I called after her.

"What, Ryou?" she asked saucily. I grinned at her.

"Don't worry about me. I'll be okay, okay?" I told her. She blushed a bit and scoffed before hurrying away, but that was enough to tell me that she was satisfied.

* * *

><p>Marik visited even before I called him. His face was flushed from the cold, as the rain hadn't seemed to let up, and his eyes were steely in their anger. I let him in without a word.<p>

"Why you no call? No text? What the hell, Ryou?" he shouted once the door was closed. Well, shouted would be an exaggeration. He was keeping his noise at a low level so as to not agitate my weakened ears.

"Marik…I had to think," I replied, looking down at the ground and wringing my hands. Marik leaned back and folded his arms.

"About _what_?" he snapped. "I took you out to rain. That's it. You sick, but you're also being stupid!" I nodded and ran my hands through my hair angrily.

"I know that," I said quietly.

"I told you I you help if you sick. No call! No text! No message!" he raved, his English becoming broken with his fury. "Really that mad, Ryou? You really so mad you cannot me give communication?" I frowned. I didn't like it when Marik yelled at me, and yet here he was reprimanding a sick person.

"I'm sorry I didn't want you to get sick, you idiot!" I growled. "I'm sorry I care about your well-being!"

"Don't try make me feel bad, Ryou Bakura!" Marik retorted, more incensed than before. "I…you-you're mean!"

There was a pause before I burst out laughing. I couldn't help feeling the victory, the satisfaction of being right when he was wrong.

"Shut up!" Marik cried, his voice threatening to break. "Shut up and stop laughing me! _At_ me!" Almost instantly, I stopped, feeling the meanness drain out of me. Marik's expression was one of torture, pure torture that had haunted him for years. I saw what he saw, a friend that didn't see him as an equal, but as a sort of comedic relief. I saw a bully who was no longer his teacher but an enemy, a traitor who'd wormed his way into his trust and was now shattering it.

"Marik-" I began, but he turned away. No, I couldn't let him leave like this. "Marik Ishtar, you are going to listen to me and you are going to do it whether you like it or not!" He still made his way swiftly towards the door, and at that moment I couldn't stand it anymore.

I followed him out the door and to his car. I waited outside in the rain without an umbrella as he geared up the engine, shivering in my quickly drenching clothes. I stared at him, mouthing "wait" every time he looked at me. He didn't leave, even when the car started. I waited. I stayed as long as he could stand, up until he smacked his wheel in frustration and turned his car off, coming out and bundling me in his arms.

"Let's go inside," he grumbled, still irate. "I'll listen, okay?" I nodded into his chest, suddenly feeling weaker than I ever had. I didn't know whether it was from the sickness or the relief, but since this was Marik and since I trusted that he could take care of me, I didn't care.

"You need to take warm bath," he determined, setting me down on the couch. "_A_ warm bath," he corrected, and though it was an improvement, my heart panged in hurt.

"N-no, Marik," I said, lightly pounding my fist on the coffee table. "You need to sit down and talk to me. I have something important to say, and I…I'm scared out of my mind, but I can't linger away from it anymore. I don't want to lose you." Marik stood still, warring with his concern for me, but eventually agreed and sat down on the other end of the couch. I leaned away from him, suddenly ashamed. How did all those people do it? How did they manage to muster the courage to tell the ones they loved the truth, even when all adversity was against them? I opened my mouth and let the words flow free.

"I love you. I don't care if you don't feel the same way, but I do. I don't mind remaining friends, but," I paused, staring deeply into his eyes. "You need to know." His face was expressionless, a hint of surprise evident on his features. "I love you, not because of your weird speech patterns, your blond hair and tanned skin, or even your smile. I love you because you go out into the rain and don't forget about me, you get mad when I don't text you, and you tell me the truth knowing that I won't leave." He stared at me, frozen. I looked down at my hands, marveling at how pale they were. That was due to more than just the cold. "For those reasons, I won't allow anything less than friendship between us. I don't care if you feel uncomfortable, I will fight for you." Marik suddenly cleared his throat and I jumped. His face was chiseled out of stone, hard and unforgiving. He didn't say a word as he stood up and walked away, out the door, into the rain. I wanted to follow him again, but I didn't know where we were. What should I do next? He had already shattered my heart into a million pieces, what was left to glue together?

* * *

><p>Mai wouldn't stop asking me questions.<p>

"Why isn't Marik speaking to you?" she asked insistently. "What the hell did you do, Ryou? I swear, if you hurt him…" It was all too easy to tune her out. I was only so glad that she didn't persevere in her tirades. Mai noticed the circles under my eyes. She noticed how I refused to speak with not only her, but everyone else. It was just too useless. Why share my thoughts if no one else wanted to hear them? I was back to questioning the origins of everything I knew. Why did humans feel this attraction towards others? Who cared about love? It was such a useless emotion that I could not bear to hold it any longer. But why did people love? Why did I keep seeing Marik's face in everything I did even when I didn't want to see him? Why, why, WHY? This was not like my other questions; numbers mattered little in the face of such dire circumstances. I wanted to know why I felt this way. Why it brought me pain, and yet, why I could not let it go.

I turned to literature. Romeo and Juliet, to be specific. As I grazed my hand over the glossy pages of the textbook, trying to catch the requited love in my own hands and taste its satisfactory sweetness, I frowned and retracted it. How did they manage in the face of such adversity? How did their love survive?

I slammed the book shut. The only conclusion I could make was that they survived because they were mutually in love. I was stuck on a rainy day in the library while everyone else was nursing hot chocolate or coffee from the comforts of their home. I felt my throat constrict a bit, and I felt like an old man. Tears sparked my eyes and I sniffled miserably. Already I had something to regret. Marik didn't love me, and now he didn't even want to be my friend. I rushed outside of the library, my face burning from sickness and despair. I didn't care if I looked like a spectacle. I was miserable, and I was sick, and I wanted to die on the cement right then and there.

The rain took my voice as I wailed and sobbed and retched. It didn't matter anymore, none of it did. I felt like crap. I felt like a worthless human being who'd had his heart torn out and stomped upon, and all because I couldn't stay away from what I couldn't have. He'd warned me, but I still fell. And I'd fallen hard.

"Ryou!" a voice called. I curled up into a ball and pretended that I couldn't hear anything. "Ryou, what the fuck?" Ah, so it was Mai. I felt her picking me up, marveling at her strength. I then realized that there was another pair of arms keeping me upright, and my heart leapt to my throat. I managed to open my eyes a bit, but when I didn't see the tanned skin I'd been looking for, I plunged myself back into a deeper despair.

It wasn't Marik. My hopes were dashed yet again. I cursed myself for even thinking that it'd be possible, that Marik would be looking for me.

"We have to get him to the nearest hospital, Mai!" Joey's voice called out. Mai's boyfriend was caring, as I recalled, a contrast to the aloofness of Mai herself. I wanted to struggle, to call out that I was fine, but I felt both hot and cold at the same time, as if I was in the place where hell was freezing over. "I don't know how long he's been out here!" I didn't know either. It seemed like a couple minutes, but sometimes, when I got lost in my thoughts…

"We need to meet up with the ambulance somewhere safe. Marik's apartment is the closest," Mai said quietly, guiltily. Maybe now she knew a bit of what I was feeling. The hurt, the sadness. I didn't even care that we were going to Marik's house. I closed my eyes and just hoped that I'd be dead by then.

* * *

><p>I was leaning over Marik, kissing him feverishly and feeling his hands tangled in my hair, pulling me closer. I leaned back and grinned. We were barely touching noses, and his hazy purple eyes filled with lust sent a shock straight to my groin. He grinned then, leaning up and closing the distance between us. I felt his legs wrap around my bare waist and his entire body consumed me so that I couldn't think, couldn't give away my thoughts because he'd taken them all, his gorgeous body and his willingness to please me, his beautiful personality and infectious laugh. His utter trust in me, and my trust in him.<p>

I regretted the end of that dream. I woke up to the smell of a sterile hospital, a smell that I hadn't revisited since I'd gotten my wisdom teeth pulled. I groaned inwardly; my insurance was bound to be testy, paying for all of this all of a sudden. But I kept up with my payments, no matter how meager they were, so I could vouch for myself. In fact…

"Ryou, wake up," said a tight voice. "I see you eyes move. Wake up." The voice was tired and sad. I didn't want to wake up, so I didn't. I lay stock still and kept my breathing even, trying to think of anything but the man next to me. "Ryou…"

I delved into my thoughts again, but they all redirected to him, to the dream I'd just had. How would it feel if he stared at me lovingly just once? Would my heart leap to my throat, or would I feel the beauty of Romeo and Juliet during the few days that they'd known each other? A gradual, yet passionate beauty that consumed me wholly and fully, a love that spread like wildfire.

"Ryou, I'm sorry," he said.

Oh, God. That was the last thing I wanted to hear. My eyes flew open and I glared at him.

"You're sorry?" I rasped. "Don't be. I'll just hate you all the more." He stared at me, and I finally got a good look at him. He was the picture of worry. "Go away Marik. If I had it my way, I'd be out of the country right now." Marik bit his lip, and with careful resolution leaned closer to me so that I could feel the heat of his face. I swallowed and glared defiantly, but otherwise didn't stop him when he pressed his lips to mine.

"Do you hate me?" he asked coyly. "You cannot. You kiss back." I stared at him with half-lidded eyes.

"There's a fine line between hate and love," I snapped. "Unfortunately, you are victim to both." Marik's eyes hardened.

"So are you," he retorted. Ouch, I hadn't been expecting that. "You are idiot for being stupid enough to go out in cold when you sick. You force me to worry. What do you want from me? One hand you tell me you love me, the next you hate me. You don't call or text, then you tell me you love me." He threw his hands up into the air, but I didn't relent. Did he honestly think that we were on equal grounds? I opened my mouth to speak, then closed it. I turned away, not wanting to have him see the frustrated tears of weakness in my eyes.

"Look at me, Ryou," he said gently.

"No," I sobbed. "I can't believe you. I can't believe that you don't understand! You ran off, and I was scared that our friendship was over!"

"You said you fight for it," he countered.

"I loved you too much!" I wailed. I curled up, looking at anywhere but him. Marik suddenly put his hand on my wrist, reaching over my back. And suddenly, feeling him and his sadness, my mouth couldn't stop babbling. "I was scared that you didn't love me, or even want me as a friend! Love is love when two people feel the same way! No one wants to love when it's only one-sided! I didn't want to be near you because you didn't love me, and you didn't even like me anymore!" Marik frowned and began to protest when I suddenly clenched his hand with both of mine and shoved my face into it, taking in his scent and warmth. "I loved you when there was no love in return. That killed me. You have no idea how much that killed me, Marik."

"I'm…I'm sorry," he said, and I felt heat rise in my face as his hand trembled. He didn't know what was going on! He didn't know that my thoughts were spilling out of me like blood from a cut. "I don't want you be sad, Ryou. I want you be happy and…and live without caring about mysteries of life. I want you to live in the moment." I didn't move, too surprised and scared. "I love you Ryou…and I'm not saying because I feel guilty, even though I do. I ran away, I confused and guilty. I didn't want you love me because I not worth it. I not a smart genius and not make big money."

"It a good reason! Most couple break up because money!" he protested, trying to hug me but wavering centimeters from my person. "I don't want break up for money, friendship or otherwise…"

"Otherwise," I blurted.

"Eh?"

"No matter what, there can be no friendship between us," I stated calmly. "We can't ignore each other's feelings. Either you're my boyfriend or nothing at all to me." Marik flinched, and I turned and glared at him. "I don't care about some petty fear. We can still be acquaintances if this doesn't work out, but I don't want to keep this tension. I can't stop thinking about you, and I know you feel the same way. Either we're boyfriends or we're nothing. Take your pick." Marik started to protest, but his indignant cry died at his lips. I stayed resolute, even if the thought of not being Marik's best friend anymore pained me. I was willing to take the risk, to take the step up into obtaining the best thing I could ever want. Someone I could share all my thoughts with, all my secrets.

Marik stared back calmly. His face was a mask of still fear, but slowly it melted. I felt my grin grow wider as I saw what expression came from the transformation.

"Okay," he whispered.

* * *

><p>Mai had been pissed at both of us when we told her first.<p>

"So let me get this straight," she snapped, passing me a sandwich from the picnic basket. "Marik's dating Ryou because you guys got pushed to the limit with Ryou being injured? That's probably the stupidest thing I've ever heard!"

"That's not it!" I growled, accepting the sandwich then leaning into Marik's arms. "I bet we would've made up if I'd just visited him and discussed with him, but my fever happened to happen first!" Mai groaned and slapped a hand to her forehead.

"Sure," she drawled. "But if you break up, then come back together with Ryou in stitches and Marik losing a limb, I'll personally end both of you." We gave her impish grins, sensing her approval. Joey laughed and put an arm around Mai's shoulder.

"Believe it or not, guys, Mai's a real fangirl when it comes to you," he chortled. Mai gave an indignant shout and started to slap him as Joey merely laughed and took the beatings. I turned to see Marik blushing a bit.

"She really does?" he asked, turning his wide eyes to me. "I've heard of fangirls…will she stalk us with a camera?" I shrugged and decided not to think on it, choosing instead to marvel at our intertwined hands. We kept a comfortable silence as our friends "fought" with each other until Marik sighed calmly.

"I never done that before," he said in wonder. I turned up to look at him.

"Done what?"

"Have my alone time…with everyone here," he replied, grinning widely. I smiled back at him and pressed my lips right below his jaw.

"It's 'cause of me," I joked, flicking his forehead. He lightly flicked my nose in response.

"I think it is."


	21. Us

Us

Dear Ryou,

I don't know why you ended what we had. I was happy. I thought you were too. I don't know what I could've done to fix whatever I did wrong, but I know that you're being unfair. You dropped me and left without so much as a goodbye, and I don't like how you didn't give me a chance to at least fix whatever I did. I'm convinced that it's your fault for the failure of this relationship.

But at the same time, I miss you. Your little comments about my inability to wear something "manly," but how you said I looked cute anyway. Your ability to laugh at every joke I made no matter how stupid it was, and your ability to make _me_ laugh no matter how depressed I feel. I miss your love of music and your impromptu piano practices that made me learn to love the sound of piano. Your voice wasn't a professional's, but it still made me feel like home. _You_ made me feel like home. I want you back, but at the same time, I don't want you to leave for no reason again.

For goodness' sake, just write back to me! If you don't want to get back together, I won't push it, but at least tell me _why_! I can't stand not knowing. You know how I feel about being powerless…I feel like you're throwing a cloak over my head and preventing me from seeing whatever it is I could make better. Maybe I don't want to be with you, but at least you could have the decency of telling me what I did wrong so that I can fix it!

Okay…now I feel pathetic. I really do want you back, Ryou. I don't know why, even though you've betrayed me and hurt me so many times over, I do want you back. And I don't want you to leave, because a relationship of three years isn't supposed to just…end. If you get this letter, or if you haven't completely gotten over me, then write back. Actually, even if you completely hate me, just write back. I suppose I need some closure if it's really over.

Sincerely,

Marik

Dear Ryou,

Well…it's been a month and you haven't replied. I should give up, but I just want to tell you how my life is going. Just in case you didn't get my last letter (I actually rather hope that you didn't…it's kinda embarrassing) I still want you back, but I understand if I've screwed up beyond comprehension. I kinda understand why you broke up with me now…I mean, I suppose I didn't pay enough attention to you. I should've gone out with you once a week as opposed to once every three weeks. Isn't that always the issue with these kinds of relationships? One of us doesn't pay enough attention to the other, then we're left in the dust.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry for neglecting you and making you feel unwanted, but you aren't, no matter what. I still love you, and though you're probably over me by now, I won't stop. Haha, in fact, I won't let you hear the end of it! You'll know you're loved, no matter if it comes from the wrong person!

Well, you won't believe it, but Duke and Tristan are going out! I know, I can just picture the shocked expression on your face. I thought that the love triangle between Tristan, Duke, and Serenity was all that was there, but apparently Serenity was just the cover story (voluntarily!) for the gay relationship. Ha, suckers right? We were still the first gay relationship! That doesn't stop them from being happy, though, and I'm actually glad for it. This town needs at least ONE gay relationship out there!

Ah, what else happened? I got an A on my most recent exam, but that was a fluke because the curve was so low that the professor bumped everyone's grade up. I, apparently, had one of the low scores, so it's a good thing that everyone else sucked almost as badly as I did! I don't know how I'm going to possibly pass college (your forceful studying enforcements helped, but now they're not here so I'm forced to…actually STUDY). Ugh, getting a major in Math isn't all fun and games, I'll tell you that (but you already know…that's how we met!) and I'm finally feeling the brunt effects.

Oh! Final tidbit of information: I got a job! It's at a construction site where I get to actually put my knowledge to use! I have an internship under an engineer and everything, so it's all official, and my professors are looking at me with shock. I know, it was your kind of thing, right? That's what everyone is saying, but you know what? It's such a great idea that I'm just going to follow it in your memory!

Thank you, Ryou! Even if you don't reply, it's good that you actually opened this card and listened to my ramblings! I've enclosed a picture of me with my brand new construction hat and uniform. Hopefully it doesn't make you miss me so much (then again, hopefully it does!)

Sincerely,

Marik

Dear Ryou,

It's getting to be a bit windy here, and Téa keeps complaining because her skirt suddenly flies up without any warning (which makes sense because guys always ogle her for her legs, i.e. Yugi). I don't know why she doesn't just wear something like pants, and she always rants about how she's going to do it. She actually bought a pair the other day when we went out shopping, so that's an improvement.

I finally emptied my closet of all the useless things and put them all up for sale! It was a pretty low-key garage sale, but I got a total of $136 for my cheap junk (no furniture, just a small garage sale) and Ishizu dramatically threw her hand to her face and looked up at the sky with a look of "thank GOD." I must admit, I can actually call my closet a "walk-in" now. When it was "our closet," I remember how your side was always neat while mine looked like a tornado hit it! Hopefully you have your own closet and room wherever you are, because if you'd shared with another messy person you wouldn't be any better off than you were with me. But then, there were many things wrong that I can't even begin to list…

All in all, I'm coming to terms with the fact that you're gone, and I'm starting to think about how I can improve my relationships. I don't want to sound crass, but thanks for leaving and making me realize that some things need to change. I still want you back, but I'm a bit open to your feelings now, and I understand why you left. Hopefully I get better at this! I'm not looking for any relationships, but I'm happy that you're happy. That's all that counts!

In other news, my sister recently became the newspaper journalist for KaibaCorp. Yep, _the_ KaibaCorp. She's such a good writer that I'm surprised that they didn't notice her before, though she says it's because her background prevents her from being considered a serious candidate. This is a pretty small town, though, in the middle of nowhere. I'm glad that she's gone, but I miss her. Odion keeps me grounded, though. He's the coolest brother I could ask for in these times, when I worry about you and Ishizu to the extent that it's like fretting over children (even though Ishizu's more my parent figure than I am hers).

Oh, and Yugi is trying to get the courage to ask Téa out while Yami's trying to avoid her. I'm actually proud of Téa! I know that we made fun of her for pining over the wrong Mutou brother, but she's been pretty cool with Yami ever since he rejected her last year. Honestly, what did she see in him? He was such an ass, and frankly, he only belongs with someone as superficial as Mana anyway. But luckily, Téa's over him (or at least seems to be) and Yugi's finally got a chance.

Duke and Tristan are still going strong, and there's this new kid named Joey who's Serenity's brother back from war. Apparently they were really close, and the fact that Serenity was "used" (voluntarily) to cover the relationship makes Joey feel like they took advantage of her, so he's not on speaking terms with Tristan and Duke. A shame, since Yugi told me that they were the best of friends even before he met them.

Ah the drama!

Sincerely,

Marik

Dear Ryou,

Today I was utterly humiliated in front of the classroom when the professor brought me up in front of everyone and classified me as the "student who left his books at home." When I tried to apologize, he merely shook his head and said, "It's _your_ education." My heart sank below my feet and I tried not to look at my other classmates. But, well, it doesn't matter anyway. They all know me and see me every day, being a small town and all, and I'm left being embarrassed and trying to avoid eye contact. I didn't mean to leave my books at home! I was rushing out of my dorm and I just didn't have to foresight to pack them!

I wish I could tell him that, but he would obviously not listen. I don't blame him, but seriously, it was humiliating. I hope that I don't have to speak to him again. I know I sound like a coward, but Ryou, it was seriously the worst experience I've ever had, especially since he said that I would never live up to my sister and brother. I won't be forgetting my books anymore, that's for sure!

In other news, everything's somewhat returned to normal and everyone's being amiable towards me. It seems like your absence has made me more "humble," which I don't understand but I'm willing to embrace. My absence has probably made you a better person somehow, and that was what you were searching for, right? Except…it would be harder for you to know that you've changed on your journey because you don't have someone who can compare you from your beginnings to your ends.

At any rate, I wish you the best and hope that you haven't suffered any embarrassing moments as I have. You're probably growing just as I am, especially since you're so far away! How are you doing in your school? What about your sports? You were such a fiend in hockey that I can't imagine you giving it up for anything! There must be a lot of teams where you live, especially since the schools are so competitive and it's so cold. Maybe you can finally find someone who matches your caliber!

Ugh, Yugi keeps following me. It's really weird, but it's because he thinks I'm "lonely." The kid's an absolute sweetheart, but he's also very kind and sweet that it drives me up the wall! I can't even have an argument with him unless I want to make him cry! I don't know how Téa puts up with him, but then, Téa's a pretty hostile girl, and Yugi complements her perfectly. I don't understand how you were friends with him either, but I suppose that's just because I don't understand the power of friendship that you, Tristan, Téa, and Yugi held to so much esteem.

My real friends are really my brother and Duke. Mariku always complains that I'm wasting paper with my constant letters, but he lets me alone and sends them every day, promising that he doesn't take any peeks. Ah! Imagine if he'd been reading everything I sent you! Well, he doesn't know that you don't send anything back, so he can't be reading them all that much anyway. Ugh, his overprotective nature really pisses me off sometimes…

Duke, on the other hand, is nice to me and is the only person I allow to read these letters. Hey! Don't glare at me! You're the one who left, so I have all the free reign I want! Besides, he fixes all my grammar mistakes. If you see any perverted comments, it's because of him.

By the way, are you friends with Kisara? She's a new girl here, and she's really pretty. When I mentioned you, her face perked up a little, but she didn't say anything. She looks a lot like you. Are you related? Well, at any rate, I don't think that she speaks English, but I'm trying to reach out to her. I hope that she doesn't think I'm some sort of stalker by the way I constantly sit next to her and talk my heart out about nothing. Jeez, I really dominate the conversation…maybe that's why you left? Haha, anyways, it doesn't matter anymore. She's really pretty, but I'm a little worried because Seto constantly looks at her and Ishizu is trying to get me to hook them up in order to get her promoted. Ah, life issues…

Sincerely,

Marik Ishtar

Dear Ryou,

This letter will be a little short, as the amazing and magnificently sexy Duke is writing for me. I broke my arm trying to reach for The Cup and falling flat on the floor, like an idiot. Yeah, yeah, that Cup. The one we could never reach because our stepladder was crooked but you found it too sentimental to replace. Well, heh, it's finally broken. Duke brought his stool and got The Cup down for me while I was in the hospital getting a cast, and the stepladder is safely in the junkyard. Sorry, but it was all splinters by the time I crushed it…

As to why I was getting The Cup, it's a bit of a complicated story. You know how it's a replica of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, the town's urban legend? Well, Kaiba looked into Kisara's background and found out that she came to Domino solely to dig up some information on the dragon, and she's desperate to find out anything she can. Ishizu leapt at the chance to impress her boss and asked me to get The Cup, begging the royal hotness that is Duke Devlin and his equally attractive boyfriend, Tristan Taylor to assist me, as she'd heard about the disastrous Cup.

Well, they dragged me to the hospital and Tristan used Duke's ladder to get The Cup down. Ishizu was so guilty and angry at The Cup that she nearly smashed it with a hammer, but Duke's compassion and horribly suave demeanor managed to tame the beast. According to Tristan, who went with her while I was getting my cast and Duke observed, Kaiba was so ecstatic that he managed a small smile and Ishizu got promoted. Tristan further stated that Ishizu tried to _deny_ the promotion because she felt guilty for me, but Kaiba had insisted (not as compassionately as The Great Duke Devlin, but nonetheless…) on having her accept her new role as his office assistant. When she got home, _I_ gave _her_ a lecture on accepting her role and getting over her guilt. Seriously, it's as if she sent me to my death, the way she was acting.

Well, that's all for that event. Here's a picture of me waving at the camera with my cast, as the gorgeous and handsome Duke Devlin insisted on a photo for this letter.

Sincerely,

Marik Ishtar

Dear Ryou,

It's been a while since I've written anything to you, and for that I'm sorry! My cast has come off, and I cut my hair a little (it was getting shaggy and ugly). Oh! And here's the big news!

Kisara and Kaiba are dating! I know, and to think that it was all over a Cup. Ishizu is very happy for them. She says that they've been keeping in contact for a while and Kisara finally managed to say that she reciprocated Kaiba's feelings (and here I thought that she didn't speak any English…). But they're both happy, and Kisara always talks to me now about Kaiba this and Kaiba that. Ishizu sometimes joins our chats as well, but Kisara gets a bit shy around her since she hasn't known her as long as she's known me.

Oh, the irony. You know how I keep sending you letters and you never reply? Well, Ishizu looked up your location with her resources, and it turns out that you were at a different address the entire time! Luckily, when I called the mail carrier, he waved me off and said that his companions knew this, but they'd already assumed that I meant you and they dropped it off to your box anyway. At least I wasn't too far off the mark!

It's almost been a year since I've last seen you. I hope you're actually reading my letters as opposed to just using them as kindling. I wouldn't blame you, though, because I was asking everyone else what was wrong with our relationship and they came up with a slew of answers:

We were too distant. I texted you once a day and you kissed me once a week, but we were too busy with our lives to do anything else. Duke asked about our sex lives (don't worry, I'm not disclosing a thing) and when I didn't answer, he said that _that_ must have been lacking as well. Yugi pouted at me when I asked and said that I didn't say "I love you" enough, but threw it around in front of Ishizu and Odion like it was no one's business. He said this politely, but it was true and I find no need to sugarcoat it.

We were complete opposites. I was unafraid to try new things while you savored the familiar. I loved the outdoors and the sunshine while you craved the indoors and the secrets of the dark. I'm a vegetarian, you were a carnivore. I spent hours on my looks, you were just as satisfied coming out of bed and heading to school. Téa says that we hadn't even communicated the fact that we were in a relationship in the same way. Where I would yell it out and make sure everyone knew, you didn't tell anyone until they asked, which was completely fine. I kind of understand now, and I somewhat wish that I hadn't driven you off for that. Oh well, it's all gone anyway. This isn't the time to reflect, it's the time to celebrate!

Kisara would look pretty in a wedding gown. She's a pretty tall girl, so she would also look good next to Kaiba. It was as if they were made for each other! But these thoughts are too soon for now.

Sincerely,

Marik Ishtar

Dear Ryou,

Domino is expanding, and it's such a scary and exciting thought! We are merging with the Pegasus Enterprises since Kaiba negotiated with Pegasus to obtain his company. It turns out that Kisara has some ties with Industrial Illusions, a branch of Pegasus Enterprises, and Pegasus owes her a lot. A LOT. Kisara was the spokesperson for all of his products, in all of his branches, but he'd initially bought her as a prostitute from an underground market. She wasn't raped, thankfully, but she was given no pay and had to look good for the camera. That meant bulimia, forced by Pegasus' hand. With a lawsuit and an exchange of money, the entire company was now the property of Seto Kaiba and Kisara while Pegasus rests in jail.

Ishizu's really raking in the cash. She also has a new suitor called Mahaad who's really sweet, but can't seem to leave her alone. He was another one of the prostitutes Pegasus had bought illegally (it turns out there were about thirty of these workers) but the difference was that he was truly raped. It's horrible, and Ishizu constantly talks to Mahaad to try to get him out of his shell. He really loves her, though. I can tell by the way he looks at her and pays attention to everything she says. He's all sunny smiles and hugs around her and me, but Téa says that when we leave he becomes reclusive and eyes everyone warily. It's sad, and I wish that he'd be a little more open, but his background really prevents it.

Téa and Yugi are FINALLY going out. They announced themselves as a couple to their friends and family, and Téa told me ecstatically after three days. She was extremely nervous and giggly, like she was in a dream and it wouldn't last. I'd rolled my eyes and mussed her hair. It was so obvious that it nearly killed me that she was in love. Yugi was no better. He was practically floating as he held Téa's hand, and oh, Ryou, if you'd seen how red his face turned when Téa leaned down and kissed his cheek, you would have laughed just as hard as I had.

It seems like my life is now surrounded by couples. The only ones not in a relationship are Serenity (who, frankly, is perfectly fine with being single), Weevil, Rex, Mako, and me. The other three are bachelors in want of a relationship, but they aren't really interested. I'm not really interested either, but I'm still open.

By the way…it would've been our three-year anniversary if we'd still been dating. I don't know why I wrote that down, but I just wanted you to know that I still love you, Ryou. I can admit that I've somewhat been pining for you (much to the disgust of my friends and family), but I'm still…I don't know. I still want US. I still want to be with you. You're such an amazing person that I can't stand…well, you've heard all of this before. Well, I know that you're inwardly wishing me a happy birthday because you care about me, just a tiny bit. This might just be my last letter to you in a while. I know how it gets annoying when people pine after you this way…

Sincerely,

Marik Ishtar

Ryou,

This is not Marik, this is the Great Duke, if you remember. He's really been leaving out some of the fine print of the entire scenario of Domino, so I'll fill some blanks.

We all hate you. Very much. There, that's about it.

Seriously, Ryou. Marik was severely upset when you left, and the fact that you don't send him any letters just pisses everyone off. If you hated him this much, why didn't you break it off gently? Your friends hate you just as much as I do, and I'm including Yugi in this mix. You're really a jerk, you know that? Not answering Marik's letters even when he tries to keep you updated…it really gets me furious. The best part is that Marik doesn't even tell his friends that you don't answer his letters because he doesn't want them to think that you're a dick. But don't worry, they do. I know I betrayed Marik's trust, but I told them because I frankly didn't care to see Marik droop every time he went to the mailbox and found that there was nothing in there.

Here's what you should do. Get a piece of paper, write "Hi," put it in an envelope, put a stamp, and send it to Marik's address. At least then he'll know that you're alive and that you're just being a huge asshole about his letters.

Write back, you idiot,

Duke

Hey, Ry-ry!

This is Tristan! We're going to spam your mail, email, and all social messaging accounts until you reply! We all miss you, especially Marik, and he's really in a slump. Last night, he started a rant about how everyone was leaving him alone, and I thought that he was being whiny until I realized that we'd forgotten his birthday to go Christmas shopping. It really sucks to do that, as I'm sure you understand, and he was in a real funk about it, too. So we decided (after he left, of course) that we would give him the best birthday/Christmas present of all, your letter! Marik really doesn't care if you want to get back together or not, but hearing from you would really make his day. I think that it's a great idea, and I really encourage you to participate! So shoot us a letter back, okay?

Your bro,

Tristan Taylor

Hi, Ryou,

This is Yugi. We really miss you over here, and I've sent you a couple of emails and you've never replied. But at any rate, if you don't reply to this letter, we're visiting you whether you like it or not! And you don't have any time to move, because we'll start packing in about a week! We're worried Ryou! And I'm sure that you're fine, but still…

It was sweet of you to become friends with me when no one else would. I know that you've always seen yourself as a coward, but Ryou, it was so brave the way you stood up to your demons and announced that you were in a relationship with Marik, no matter who cared. It was brave of you to watch as your family left and it was brave of you to hold Marik when he felt guilty and tried begging them back. You're one of the strongest people I know, next to Téa, but I know that you are strong enough to reply to Marik's letters and our own. I really love you, Ryou, just like a brother. I care, and that's why it's killing me that you don't answer. Please…write back.

Sincerely,

Yugi Mutou

Dear Ryou,

This is Téa and Serenity. We're writing our letters together because Téa really hates you and Serenity really cares about you, so we're meeting in the middle. We both don't like the fact that you left, and we both wish you back. I, Téa, hate the fact that you left Marik and sent him no letters even when he sent you one every month. I, Serenity, think that you have an obstacle to overcome. Maybe it's physical, like not having enough money to be able to send letters or get e-mails, or maybe it's emotional. But either way, I know that you can overcome it. Please write back and let Marik know that you still care and love him, even if it wasn't as strong as it used to be. We really love you, and even though Téa hates you, she cares about your wellbeing and would like a word from you. Write back, write back, WRITE BACK!

From,

Téa and Serenity

To Ryou,

I am the last letter. You know who I am, and I know your situation very well. I know why you haven't written any letters. I know why you haven't talked to Marik for a while.

I know. And you must overcome your fear.

I lived in its shadow for the past fourteen years of my life, and it's unfair to both you and the ones you love if you keep to it. It's alright to run away, but it's best if you confront your fears and be brave. Your friends can tell what is wrong, though Marik is doing his best to avoid the thoughts. The man loves you more than life itself, Ryou, and if you hadn't driven him away with your last words, there is no doubt that he would be heading to your apartment right now and wrenching you out of your fear. But you can't have Marik protect you all the time. I can't depend on Seto to drive away my fears. I can't depend on Ishizu and Marik to be my knights. I have to be the knight, the warrior, of my own life. I have to escape the dungeon that binds me still, and may bind me for the rest of my life.

Ryou, you must fight for your happy ending. There is a way out, there is a way through this mess. And your mess is great, as the more you struggle, the tighter it winds. Be strong, Ryou, and have enough courage to pick up a pen and ask for some ink.

Yours,

Kisara

_The night was cold. The clouds were heavy, and the air was sharp and crisp with the tints of impending rain. A man wandered outside of his dismal town and picked up the package that was right outside of his door, marveling at its size. He investigated his surroundings, to see if anyone had dropped this off. No, it had not been just anyone. The special mail carrier had dropped this to his door. With a gasp of fury, the man went inside his house and locked the door._

_ On his desk, there were several pieces of paper that were wrinkled and straightened over and over again. One even had the marks of fire, from when the man hadn't been able to stand it and had decided to throw it into a neighborhood bonfire, only to try to rescue it from its depths. His hands were charred, but he held the letter delicately and had cried over it, plucking the skin from his fingers all the while…_

_ The picture of his ex was next to his bed, the first thing he woke up to. He hadn't been getting a good sleep lately. The letters were a comfort, though. How he had ever managed to leave was incomprehensible, but how he would ever get back was far more of a challenge._

_ It was when he opened Kisara's letter that he knew what to do. He closed his eyes and clutched her letter in his hands, feeling his heart tear as the image of purple eyes overcame the red eyes of his brother. He sat there, on his dining table, reminiscing about his ex's smile, his laugh, his misery…_

_ Would he accept him? The letters seemed to say so. It would be selfish to assume, but it would be equally selfish to remain where he was and continue hurting him. Ryou crumpled the letter in his hands and stood. There was no way he was staying here if he continued to hurt the people who were wishing him well, who wanted him back. He stood and walked purposefully towards his room, picking up his phone and glancing at Marik's funny-looking cast. The phone kept ringing and he stared into his eyes with all the absorption of a madman. Marik was smiling in a bittersweet manner, as if there was a haunted look about him. Ryou knew him better than anyone else. He knew what Marik was feeling. When his brother's harsh voice came onto the phone, he decided that it was the end._

_ "I'm leaving," he said simply. Bakura laughed harshly._

_ "Not this again," he snarled. "How am I supposed to protect you if you leave?" Ryou shook his head._

_ "You're hurting me more by keeping me away from the ones I love," he said curtly, his finger waving over the "call end" button. Bakura sighed in obvious disappointment. Once upon a time, Ryou would've been eager to please his brother. Once upon a time, he would've ameliorated the situation. Now, however, he had to think of who mattered most._

_ "I'm leaving," he said resolutely, allowing no room for argument. "And you can't do a thing. If you decide to come say goodbye, I won't be here." He was walking out of the door as his brother yelled at him. He didn't have a lot; only clothes and bathroom items. The only things he was actually bringing were the letters and the picture. He would hold them out to Marik when he arrived and beg him to take him back. Bakura tried to reason with him, but Ryou hung up the phone and turned it on silent, making a mental note to block his brother's number afterwards. He wouldn't be stealing him away again._

_ He hailed a cab. It was a monumental moment. The cabbie spared a glance as the man gave him the directions to Domino._

_ "All the way over there?" the cabbie grumbled. "Yer lucky there are some people out this time o' night." Ryou's expression soured. He knew perfectly well that there were some people out at this time of night: prostitutes, murderers, thieves. He needed to leave. He needed to finally say goodbye to the relations that were holding him down._

_ "I am lucky," he finally said. "Now I just need to accept it."_

Dear Marik,

I love you. I've never stopped.

Let me get that out of the way before you begin to cry, or even worse, reject me. It's true, though. I cannot fathom living without you for a moment, and how I've been able to do so for the past few months still remains a mystery to me. Marik, you're my everything. Do not ever doubt that, and don't fret, because I'm coming home.

I'm staying at a hotel in Domino for a couple of nights until you decide that you want to accept or reject me. I will visit you in two nights' time and kiss you senseless if you accept me, but firmly accept your dismissal. We'll pick up from where we started, but first, I owe you a rather lengthy explanation.

My brother is a thief, and he took something from Pegasus that caused him to be on the blunt end of the most powerful company in the state. He needed my help. He needed someone to bail him out of jail, to endure the beatings for him, and to pick him up once he was battered. I know that you would've followed me to help him wherever he was, if only because he was my brother. You were always so selfless, so loving when it came to those respects. I didn't want you to worry, and I decided not to respond to any of your letters in hopes that you would eventually become discouraged and leave me alone.

But you didn't. You loved me, and you wanted me to know that.

I can't imagine how I stayed without you for so long. I love you, too. I loved each one of your letters, and I constantly looked at your picture. You always stated how annoying you must've been, but I reveled in your letters and I appreciated the attention. Every time I thought of you, I gained hope about my dismal situation and I thought that I could survive. I want you to see how much you mean to me, but I cannot possibly show you unless I can manage to devote the rest of my life to you. I will stay with you forever if need be, but you only have to say "yes."

Love,

Ryou Bakura

_ "You're here." Purple eyes flicked to brown. Ryou looked at Marik with a smile on his face and tears in his eyes._

_ "I'll always come back. I can't stay away from you," Ryou replied. "Do you want me to get on my knees and beg you to take me back? I'm all prepared."_

_ "It'd be a nice show," Marik laughed. Ryou kissed his cheek, unbidden._

_ "I can't help it," he said breathlessly, the tears rolling down his cheeks. "Your laugh…it makes you irresistible."_

_ "Mmm," Marik hummed. "Well, care to wish me a belated Happy Birthday, Ryou?" He tilted his head so that their lips were aligned a centimeter away from each other. Marik's eyes were half-lidded, waiting for Ryou to accept. Ryou inhaled the smell of spices and Marik's scent and home._

_ He leaned in and accepted what he had lost, what he had regained. Thoughts of his brother in jail again were the last in his mind. He wouldn't be worried about him anymore. He hand someone far more beautiful, someone who could truly protect him and who he could protect in return. Ryou leaned back and brushed his forehead with Marik's._

_ "Welcome home."_


	22. Vengeance

**(A/N):/ ****Okay, this one's a little creepy. And gory. But hopefully you guys enjoy it! This isn't your typical high school AU.**

* * *

><p>Vengeance<p>

Sometimes I feel like the whole world is watching me. It usually happens whenever I make a blunder, like the time when I said that I loved koshari when all the boys in my family loved meat and other "manly" dishes. This was nothing like that. I was a new student in a school where everyone knew each other, and the fear I obtained when I was faced with students who began whispering to their lifetime friends about my weirdness was a fear like no other. Immediately, my mind tried to occupy itself so as to not fall into a panic.

_Human beings thrive on social contact. We can never truly be alone without undergoing some mental side-effects or even death. Touch is a valuable tool for affection, which is why human beings kiss each other with their sensitive lips to convey affection._

But the hand on my shoulder felt anything but comforting. The students' whispers were dull, gloomy. They were staring at me in fear, some of them even gaping at me. Occasionally, their eyes would dart to the empty seats in the middle of the room and they would bite their lips before returning to look at me in awe.

I wanted to crawl in a hole and die.

"Marik Ishtar is his name," the teacher said cheerfully. "He hails from Egypt. Isn't that right?" He teased me by saying the last two sentences with a faux Egyptian accent, making me shiver slightly in disgust. Overconfident teachers like him really annoyed me. I did have a slight accent, but after years of living in America I'd picked up some of the national colloquialisms. Then there were blustering teachers and students who tried to imitate my accent. I hated their eager eyes as they grinned at me and asked, "Was I good?" There were other foreign students, of course, and they didn't seem to mind all that much. But I did. I did a lot.

As I crossed the room without answering the idiotic teacher's question, the students seemed to hold their breaths. There were slight gasps as I turned to the left chair instead of the right, but I noted them and switched my choice to sit next to a brunette who was watching me with an ashen face. Immediately after I sat down, she turned and talked to a purple-haired girl who sat on her other side.

The whispers resembled the buzzing of bees, but luckily the classroom was a bit calmer. Sighs of relief punctuated the chatter, and though I wanted to know why that was, I decided that it was best if I didn't find out.

"Oi!" I heard suddenly from the hallway outside of our classroom. "Is this the Geography class that I'm going to be in?" A blond boy rushed into the room and breathed heavily. That was the only sound in the classroom, as the students had unanimously paled and stopped moving. The blond was unaware of the silence, but I could only look around frightfully. What kind of class had I gotten myself into?

"Er…welcome. You must be Joey," the teacher said absent-mindedly, gesturing to the seat next to me. "Unfortunately, we have no time for introductions, especially since you're late. Please take a seat next to our other new student: Marik." It was only after the teacher had indicated Joey's seat that the Joey character noticed the stares of shock and horror. He chuckled nervously.

"Eh, what's goin' on here?" he asked cautiously. "Did I say somethin'?" I suddenly frowned, feeling protective over him. He didn't know what was going on! Granted, I didn't either, but Joey didn't deserve this treatment any more than I did.

"Don't worry about these creeps," I growled, my eyes darting around and glaring at them. "They're obviously rude and uncultured heathens that can't greet new students for shit." Joey's eyes lit up in surprise, and half in relief.

"Dude! You're foreign!" he cheered. He immediately crossed the room to sit by me, and I saw the students hold their breaths again as he sat down in the chair of doom. He suddenly became quiet, and a shiver passed through him as he sat down. "Whoa, that was weird," he said quietly, as if he was frozen in ice and could barely move. Our classmates kept watching him as the ignorant teacher kept bumbling on with his business. One girl even started to cry.

"What's weird?" I asked cautiously. "These students are scared to death of something that even I don't know. Did you feel a premonition or a bad omen of some sort?" Joey looked at me with a bit of fright in his eyes.

"No, it was more like someone died," he replied in a low voice. A boy fainted straight out of his seat at Joey's words. Right after he'd said that horrible sentence, he started laughing aloud. "I'm kidding, dude! This is a normal seat. I don't get what the hype is about!" I wanted to snap at him for making half the class wet themselves (with the exception of the oblivious teacher), but decided that it wasn't worth it. With a sigh, I decided to get on with my life.

I ignored the fact that I didn't have one.

* * *

><p>Outside of the classroom, everything was normal. I met other students that weren't absolute freaks, though they were relatively unimpressive. One can only tolerate someone named "Mako Tsunami" for so long, after all.<p>

"So I tell him 'Get the fuck out of my face before I harpoon you!'" Mako grinned, looking towards me as if I was going to award him a medal. I forced a smile on my face and nodded.

"Impressive," I muttered half-heartedly. "Excuse me; I have to go to the restroom." Mako looked at me oddly.

"Hey, you're Egyptian, right? Do you get 'da Nile' jokes all the time?" he asked. It took all my willpower to _not_ wring his neck and stomp on his remains. Instead, I gave him a blank stare before turning around and heading for the restroom. I seethed as I pushed open the door and stomped in front of a urinal. As I was doing my business, a creepy voice sent chills up my back and nearly had me screaming. An undignified place to scream, but I wasn't the one to blame.

"So you're the new student in the Geography class," the boy behind me cackled. "You don't even know what's going on, do you?" I finished and immediately zipped myself up before turning around to confront my assailant.

"Who the hell are you?" I snarled. "Why are you talking to me about that creepy class that I would much rather forget?" In front of me was a squat little boy who had narrow eyes magnified by the utterly dorky glasses he wore on his face. "Couldn't you have struck up a conversation at a less awkward time? I was kind of busy." I turned to wash my hands, trying to forget the experience that both freaked me out and caused me to feel a bit violated.

"No, I can't. You see, I'm Weevil Underwood, resident psychic and mind-reader," he said in that snippy little voice of his. I bristled as I put soap on and lathered.

"Are all the students in this school utterly crazy?" I hissed. "You probably don't even know what you're talking about. Trust me, I _know_ mind-readers and psychics. You just don't have the aura."

"Shut up!" Weevil hissed. I ignored him and set to drying my hands with the air dryer. Unfortunately, he didn't take the hint and began to yell over the dryer. "I know something you don't know, as well as the after-effects of such knowledge!" I pretended like I couldn't hear him over the dryer, but he suddenly grabbed a fistful of my long hair and yanked me down to his level. I ended up toppling the little pest over, landing in an awkward position on his lap. At first, we were both dubious as to what had just occurred, but suddenly, he clamped his legs around my head in a quick move that prevented me from moving away from him. "Listen. You're one of _his_ targets, I know it!" he whispered harshly.

"The only one who has it in for me is you!" I protested, trying to wriggle out of his rather awkward grasp. "Let me go!" At that point, he was clearly fed up with me. Reaching out a hand, he touched my forehead and immediately, I was transported into another world.

I blinked, but the image in front of me didn't change. There were my classmates from Geography class, cheerful and bustling through the rows to their friends' seats. A different teacher stood in front of the class, trying to make them learn the countries, but his attempts were half-hearted and he decided to give up the cause. I stared, bewildered. It was as if it was opposite day in this class. Our teacher was squat, but persistent. This teacher, Mr. Pegasus (judging by the nameplate on his desk), was tall and apparently a quitter.

"This was what the class was like on the first week of school. As you can see, these are not the same students that are with you today," came Weevil's voice from…all around me. I hesitantly stepped in from the corner, looking around the room. There were two people sitting in the desks that Joey and I sat in; one male was picking on the other.

I walked closer as Weevil stayed silent. It seemed that the student with the tri-colored hair and holier-than-thou demeanor was holding out a pocket knife to the boy who was slowly inching away from him.

"That kid's name is Atem," Weevil's voice sounded. "The other kid is named Ryou." I glanced at Ryou, noting his fear-stricken face. He was extremely pale due to the fear in his face, and his white hair only made him seem paler. I could tell that he wasn't an albino, though. His eyes were brown, a rich color characteristic of a normal person. I felt my curiosity grow as Atem neared him with a pocket knife. A couple of kids looked their direction but turned away. I looked at them strangely before looking back to the two students in question.

With a flick of the wrist, Atem made a clean slice in Ryou's shoulder. The boy cried out and the other students started migrating over to the two desks, as if his pain was some sort of circus attraction. My blood boiled. This was not fair! I reached out to tap the first person in front of me in the crowd, but to my surprise my hand went straight through her.

"Do you actually think that I'd let you alter the past?" Weevil exclaimed in his annoyingly high voice that far surpassed my own in general disruptiveness. I retracted my hand. "The point of this endeavor is to have you _observe_." I nodded in understanding, trying to concentrate on what was going on as opposed to Weevil's voice.

"Why can't he stop?" the purple-haired girl asked worriedly. "He just…keeps going!" The brown-haired girl smiled cruelly.

"It's 'cause he's a freak. Atem's just trying to bleed all the weirdness out of him. You've seen him do that with that guy, y'know, the Mime?"

"But…was that right? I mean, that was in sophomore year, and Mime still hasn't really been all that different after two years…" the purple-haired girl sighed. I watched as the brown-haired girl suddenly turned to her and stared daggers.

"You're not going against Atem, are you Miho?" she snarled. Miho backed away immediately, looking like a kicked puppy. I felt a growl escape my lips after I saw how she was immediately struck down.

"No…no that's not what I meant Téa," Miho whimpered. Téa suddenly gave her a smug smile and nodded curtly.

"That's what I thought," she said. I looked at her with disgust before craning my head to see what was going on. Ryou was crying as Atem attempted to "placate" him with his words, vowing "eternal release" and "freedom from freakishness". I bit my lip in horror. What was this cult? I recognized so many faces, twisted to be made to believe that they were right in what they were doing. Mr. Pegasus was also watching with interest, though his fixation wasn't on Atem like the students' fixations were. His was on Ryou.

Immediately, the vision disappeared and I was back in Weevil's lap on the bathroom floor.

"What the hell was that?" I barked, jumping up. But Weevil was, as most psychics became, exhausted with his power. I knew that I wouldn't be able to get anything out of him, but I needed to know something, and fast. Quickly, I picked him up and carried him on my back. I knew that he wouldn't be able to provide me with information when he was asleep, so I just left him in the nurse's office and waited for him to wake up.

* * *

><p>The rest of my classes were rather dull, considering I actually had something to figure out. I wondered why all the students in my Geography class had been so rude and so ready to accept Atem's attempt to "bleed" the white-haired student.<p>

It was when I saw Miho again that I did a double-take. She'd cut her hair from its long, graceful ponytail into a short bob so that her hair brushed a little bit past her chin. I hardly recognized her, but now that I did, I attempted to catch up to her. It was after eighth period, so now we had a lunch break. She had just finished waving to Téa, who I recognized as having longer hair than before, when I tapped her on the shoulder.

"Miho Nosaka," I stated calmly. She turned around and looked at me curiously, but her gaze turned into one of fright when she recognized me as one of the students in her Geography class. Without warning, she turned around and bolted as if I'd brandished a weapon at her. I looked around, panicked, but no one seemed to be paying attention. We were outside, after all, while everyone else was in the cafeteria. I decided to forsake their stares and bolt after her. It wasn't an easy feat; she was a swift runner. After about ten minutes, however, I managed to corner her between the school building and the fence that established the area between the campus and the outside.

"Listen, I'm not trying to hurt you," I said slowly, trying to limit my huffs. She was terrified, more so than any woman I'd ever seen. I smiled at her reassuringly and put my hands behind my back. Ishizu always said that I had a way of getting into people's minds, and I hoped that it would work in this case. "I just want some answers. People have been looking at me weirdly and staring at my seat in the class as if I was a…" _Shit_. I was going to say "freak", but I could tell by her frightened eyes that I had to expand my vocabulary "A newbie." I looked at her pleadingly. She was calming down, slowly but surely. I gave her an innocent, boyish smile, feeling a bit bad for deceiving her like this. It was imperative, however, that I receive the answer to my inquiries. Something weird was going on in this school, and I felt like I _had_ to figure it out…

"W-what do you want to know?" the poor girl asked. I felt even worse for cornering her like this, and figured that if she felt trapped, she could easily lie her way out of my grasp. I sighed and let my shoulders droop, trying out a reverse-psychology method.

"Ah, never mind. I don't want you to think that you're obligated to answer," I replied slowly, backing away. She furrowed her brows and looked at me curiously. I smirked inwardly. That look would be her undoing in three, two, one…

"Wait," she said softly as I was about to turn away. "If it's something about…the two kids you and Joey replaced, then I can tell you some things…" I turned towards her and smiled gratefully.

"Really? All I know is their names," I said earnestly. "I wanted to know what happened to them." Miho looked down hesitantly, as if unsure of how to phrase her next sentence.

"W-well…Atem's death was clear and to the point. He died in his bedroom, and he was the palest shade of white you would ever see," she murmured. Looking away, she gave a shuddering sigh. "Téa couldn't stop crying for days. He was her on and off boyfriend, someone she loved but also someone who loved her, though their hot tempers got in the way. It was unnatural for him to look that pale. It was almost as if he'd-"

"Been bled," I finished, looking at her intently. She gave me a surprised look.

"How did you know?" she whispered, suddenly fearful once more. I quickly made something up.

"I've seen people bleed profusely before. They always pale," I replied, inadvertently thinking of Ryou. "It's really scary. Anyway, what happened to Ryou?" I tried to make the subject change inconsequential, but Miho looked at me suspiciously.

"He disappeared," she said quietly. "His body was never found." I looked at her strangely.

"What do you mean? If you're questioning the whereabouts of his body, then aren't you only _assuming_ that he's dead?" I asked. She looked at me with haunted eyes, eyes that chilled me to the very core and reverberated through my soul.

"Ryou was a hemophiliac," she said in an ominous voice. "All that we saw when we returned to class the next morning was blood everywhere and a message on Mr. Pegasus' desk. It said…it said 'I will get you.' To this day, I think he was talking about Atem. He sure did get him." Miho suddenly walked past me confidently, as if possessed. "I was in love with Ryou from the first day of school. He never knew my feelings, however, because he was gay. Atem tried to 'bleed him out of it', but that wasn't possible. No matter if he loved me or not, I loved him. I'll forever regret not helping him in his hour of need." And with that, she left.

* * *

><p>When Weevil felt better, I went to see him. Apparently, this scenario with Weevil using his psychic powers and falling unconscious due to the amount of energy wasted was a common occurrence.<p>

"His parents don't even want to know when it's happened," the nurse said wistfully. "The boy is too active with his ESP, but all the psychiatrists said that the issue wasn't fatal, so no one really cares." Weevil seemed a bit put out when he realized that he had passed out in the midst of his explanation, but I told him that I went to Miho and squeezed some details out of her.

"Yeah, she pretty much told you what I was going to show you," he huffed. I wrinkled my nose in disgust.

"You were going to show me how Atem's corpse looked like? And the bloody room?"

"Well, yeah! That'd get it through your thick head!" Weevil shouted. "After all, you probably still think that this is some elaborate prank!"

"Trust me, if it is, it's still worth solving," I murmured. "You guys obviously put a lot of time and energy into it." Weevil threw his hands into the air in resignation.

"There's one last thing that you need to know. I don't really know if it's important or not, but I'm going to tell you anyway," he said carefully. I nodded for him to go on. "Mr. Pegasus was fired for unknown reasons after the entire incident. It seems as if the faculty thought that he was responsible for something, but we don't know what."

"Well, how do I figure this out?" I asked. "I mean, do you want me to sneak into the faculty records of something?" Weevil shrugged.

"I've told you all that I wanted you to know," he said. "The rest is up to you. I still think that you're a target. I don't know why, but I just think that you are." I gave him a withering look.

"That's great to know," I said before walking out the door. I sighed with stressful abandon. It was my first day of school and already I was about to break a couple of grand rules. Well, if it was as Weevil said, my life pretty much depended on it…

"'Ey, new kid!" I heard a voice call. I shivered. That accent could only mean that it was…

"Joey!" I said with a fake smile plastered all over my face. "How's your first day been?" He laughed and threw an arm around my shoulder.

"Well, other than the creepy first period, I was all good!" he said. "Seriously, though, those guys are crazy. I kinda wanted to tell them to back off, but at the same time, I thought I'd disturb the peace or somethin'." I furrowed my brows in contemplation. Should I tell Joey the truth? I just hoped that it wouldn't involve him into the mess…

"Hey Joey-" I began.

"Marik, I figured out that the two kids who were in our seats died before we came," he said suddenly, as if he was just bursting at the seams. I looked at him with surprise, then eagerly nodded.

"I know! How did you know about it?" I asked. "Is there anything else that you heard?"

"I learned it from this douche named Rex Raptor who said that he has psychic powers or somethin'. He told me that Ryou's body went missing and that Atem was bled to death. He also told me that Mr. Pegasus went missing, and went as far as to show me a vision-"

"-Of Atem 'bleeding' Ryou for his own good? Yeah, I saw that through Weevil Underwood!" I exclaimed. "I think that this is a bit too elaborate to be some sort of a ruse." Joey shivered.

"Did Weevil show you the bloody room and the corpse?" he asked. I shook my head. "Then you don't know all of it. The corpse had only one nick: on the shoulder. That means that Ryou definitely got his revenge, or one of his cronies did." My mind brought up Miho, but I shook it out of my thoughts. I still needed more information. "As for the room, well, my mom's a surgeon. I've seen blood, and lots of it. The room was _not_ covered with enough blood to kill someone, and the blood showed no traces of leaving the room. Someone deliberately bled themselves, and I think that someone else cleaned them up and hauled them out of the room before they could get caught." I looked at the concrete as we walked, my head reeling. Joey tapped my shoulder and I looked up at him again.

"I think that we need to look into this a little more. Maybe then we'll be able to figure this out," he said. "For now, let's just take a little break." I nodded.

"Let's just try to concentrate on making it through the first day of school," I said exasperatedly. "After that, we'll do some sort of stakeout."

* * *

><p>Despite how unresponsive I was to Joey's information, my head was whirling and twirling at the speed of light. Instead of the crime scene, however, I was thinking of the time.<p>

"Ryou went missing at the end of the second week of school," I murmured, pulling up an article involving his distraught father. After a couple of searches, I found a picture of the crime scene that one of the students had taken with their phones. It was gruesome. Blood was dripping from the ceiling down to the floor in one corner, and there were mangled handprints on the windows that resembled someone trying to claw out of the room. Blood was available in patches on the floor, and as Weevil said, there was lettering that spelled "I will get you" in blood on the teacher's desk. The door had apparently been locked, but the principal had opened it for the students to stay in until either the teacher came or an appropriate substitute arrived. I could see Téa's pale face from the corner of the camera. She'd, apparently, been among the first to see the room.

"Four months later, Atem died," I continued, scrolling up after bookmarking Ryou's page. I typed in Atem's name and began searching. His story came up easily; it seemed he was very popular when he was alive. Something about being a champion of Duel Monsters. I pulled up an image of his corpse from the archives. True to Joey's word and the paramedics' reports, there was only one rather deep gash on Atem's shoulder. To myself, I rejoiced. He deserved it for being so rude to such a defenseless, innocent classmate who was new to the school and therefore unable to defend himself from the rest of his peers. The corpse was extremely pale, but I noticed that it was a bit more morbid than that.

Zooming in, I looked into Atem's face. I looked at the miniscule indentations between his eyebrows and around his eyes. His mouth even had signs of being open. It seemed as if someone manipulated his face after he died, making it look calm and composed through the rigor mortis. They had smoothed the sheets as well, but when I pulled up another site regarding the hospital where Atem died, the sheets were never folded the way they were on his deathbed. I shivered slightly, and closed my laptop. This was far too much information to handle, because if it was true, then Atem had a horrific look on this face just before he died.

Brushing my teeth, I looked into my eyes. They were bloodshot due to the crazy amount of coffee and late-night researching I'd done. After brushing, I washed my face and changed for bed. Laying down, I felt like an old man who'd been working overtime for his entire life.

"I still think that you're alive Ryou," I said to my ceiling. "I'll figure out the cause of your death, and I'll try to appease you to the best of my ability." A sudden cold breeze entered my room through the window I'd forgotten to close, and I decided to take it as an omen. I also decided to leave my window open, just in case.

* * *

><p><em>I was in some sort of void. There was no one around to hear me and no one around to see me if I got hurt. I felt like a child lost in a shopping mall, but I remembered myself and managed to keep my cool.<em>

_ It was when I saw the boy when my entire focus became one of protection, not one of fear. He was a white-haired individual who was curled up like an embryo: completely vulnerable. I approached him cautiously, making sure he heard my voice before I entered his space. As I neared him, however, he didn't respond. I kept cooing in soft tones, just like I had when I had befriended the squirrels in my neighborhood._

_ "Hi, my name's Marik," I cooed. "What's your name? I promise not to hurt you. You're a beautiful boy." With each of my admissions, I neared him. I felt an inexplicable urge to kiss him once I saw his face, eyes wide and fearful. I followed that urge, losing my inhibitions and leaning forward. When I was within a hair's breadth of his lips, he suddenly reared back and screamed. I felt my neck start itching furiously, suddenly. I looked at my chest to see blood flowing heavily. The boy was staring at me in fascination, taking my blood and licking at it. He suddenly latched onto my neck, toppling me backwards and biting the skin open, then licking up the residue. In my delirious mind, I decided to think that he was giving me love bites. I felt affection for all the pain, though I knew that I should have been feeling panic. I didn't feel sluggish or hypnotized, but I still hugged him closer to me and felt him tear at my vocal cords and esophagus._

_ "You're delicious," he said in a raspy voice. The euphoria sent me laughing, but no sound came out because of my torn vocal cords. I felt horrible pain, but I didn't care. He looked so beautiful with my blood on his lips…_

_ "My name is Ryou Bakura," the boy whispered happily, his teeth stained with red. "You're a beautiful boy, too." I nodded my thanks, and he squealed at the amount of blood that left me at this action. I suddenly felt a shaking sensation, and Ryou gave me a frantic look. "No! Don't leave!" he hissed, trying to grab me and keep me in place. I couldn't tell what was going on, the loss of so much dark stained blood finally having its affect on me. "Marik!" Ryou cried. But he sounded so far away…_

* * *

><p>"Marik!" Ishizu screamed. I woke up with a jerk to find that she was trying to draw my hands away from my neck. I looked at them to see that there were tiny droplets of blood under my fingernails. Ishizu sat down at the side of my bed and buried her face in her hands, taking a deep, shuddering breath. I saw that it was morning now, though my body felt as if I'd just ran five marathons in a row without stopping. I looked over at Ishizu with confusion.<p>

"Wh-what's going on?" I asked hesitantly. She turned her head to glare at me, and I could tell that she was really worried about me.

"You tell me!" she snapped. "I came to wake you up for school and you were making all these freaky gargling noises and tearing at your throat as if the treasure to your salvation was in there! Marik, I was calling your name for about eight minutes!" Ishizu drooped, running a hand through her hair. "What's going on? Is there something you need to talk to me about?" I looked at her with sadness. She was worried, as any sister would be. At the same time, I knew that if I told her, she would be put into danger. Ishizu was one of the only two family members I had left, and I couldn't risk losing her.

"I just had…a very bad dream," I said, trying to sound convincing. She looked at me a bit skeptically, but seemed to accept the excuse after a moment. She stood up and went to the bathroom, coming back with a damp washcloth.

"Here," she said gently. "Whatever dream caused you to claw at yourself made sure you didn't do a half-assed job." I laughed at her joke before coughing because of the soreness of my throat. Her already meager smile disappeared. "Marik, are you sure that nothing's wrong?"

"I'm fine, sis," I said warmly, ignoring the awkward tingles it sent down my throat. "It's really nothing to be worried about." She gave me a look that clearly showed that she was unconvinced, but that she would grin and bear it for the time being.

"Why don't you just get ready for school?" she said tiredly. "I'm going to try to forget that this entire thing ever happened." I wisely didn't say a word, only nodding to her admission. Ishizu was more my mother than my sister, especially with the way she doted on me and the way she constantly pulled me out of tight spots. I understood that she was stressed out, and I didn't want her to worry about me.

"Goodbye, Ishizu! I'm off to school!" I called to her.

"Alright! Remember to wear your helmet!" she cried back. I rolled my eyes. I always "forgot" to wear my helmet only because it was confining. I never wore my helmet even when I rode a mere bicycle, but Ishizu had friends everywhere in the city that would give me away if I didn't wear the helmet even when she told me to wear it. My only chance appeared when she forgot to tell me, which was obnoxious, but all with good reason.

The visor of my helmet restricted my vision a bit, but when I saw a flash of white that was most certainly _not_ a bird in the sky, I immediately pulled over and looked up.

It was a hand, descending down on me. I flinched and waited, wondering what would happen. I thought that once it landed, it would grasp my neck, but instead it positioned itself in front of my lips. I looked at it, confused, before slowly getting on my motorcycle and driving away. To my surprise, it started to follow me. I heard people gasp and scream of shock as I weaved through town with the apparition in high pursuit, but I didn't dare stop. It gained ground, however, as I approached the school and was forced to slow down. Panic flowed through me as I tore off my helmet and dashed through the school gates.

The students screamed as I tried to get to my Geography class without the hand reaching me. I dashed through the hallways with wild abandon, watching teachers and students alike give me weird stares before their expressions became horrified at the hand. The hand itself only grew faster and stronger with my proximity to the classroom. It was only a meter away from me when I wrenched open the door to the class and slammed it behind me.

"Marik? What on earth?" the teacher bumbled. All the students were already in their seats, as the bell was about to ring at any minute. I was pale and panting, leaning against the door to prevent the hand from entering. My classmates watched me curiously as I slumped down against the door and pressed my head between my knees. I needed to calm down. The chase was over, and the hand was _not_ behind the door.

"Wh-what is that?" Téa said shakily. I looked up at her to see that she was pointing at something above my head. My sense of foreboding was strong, and sure enough, I looked up to see the shadow of the hand floating idly through the window in the door. I stared at it as it pressed itself flat against the window. I felt a push that grew stronger and stronger, until I couldn't hold the door anymore. I was propelled forward, but I managed to catch my balance to see the disembodied hand float menacingly toward me.

"It's Ryou's hand!" Miho squeaked before the entire class was thrown into a frenzy. Our teacher didn't say a word, merely staring at the ghost hand that was levitating slowly towards me. I tried to get out of the way, but it followed me and terrified my classmates even more. Eventually, I decided to take evasive action. I flung my helmet at it, then escaped by doing a slide underneath it. It looked around bewilderedly, as if it had eyes and was attempting to track me down. I dashed out the door and down the hallway, which was bare by the time I ran through it. It eventually found me out and dashed as fast as it could towards me. It became slower and slower as the distance between me and the classroom increased, but my slide had taken most of my energy, and I found that my adrenaline rush was decreasing at a fast pace. I closed my eyes and felt my legs give out, forcing me to collapse onto the floor. I watched dazedly as the hand came closer and closer, then once again remained on my lips. I turned my head half-heartedly, but it only followed.

"What do you want me to do?" I said tiredly. Footsteps approached, and the hand became more urgent. I shrugged, uncomprehending, but it proceeded to mash my face to its fist. I finally got it. Closing my eyes, I puckered my lips and kissed it lightly. It pressed back eagerly and forced me to deliver more into the kiss. I felt my energy being drained all the more, but welcomed it. I remembered my dream, after all, and if Ryou wanted a bit of my vitality, it was okay.

When Joey approached and saw us, the hand disappeared. By then, I was too tired to actually walk back to my classroom, so he knelt down beside me.

"Need help, buddy?" he asked. I nodded dumbly, still trying to comprehend what had just occurred. He turned around, still kneeling. "Climb on my back, Marik. You're still capable of that much, right?" I nodded, but then realized that he couldn't see me. With a grunt, I heaved myself on his back and wrapped my arms around his neck. A sudden, sharp tug almost lurched me off, and I looked behind me with growing terror. The hand was back.

"Joey…" I moaned, trying to tell him about the hand. He didn't hear me and kept walking. The hand jerked behind me, trying to dislodge me again. I glared at it. "What do you want?" I snapped harshly.

"Marik?" Joey asked.

"The hand…it's back," I said softly. He turned his head a bit, but realized that it was futile.

"Try talking to it," he said, a bit frightened. "It might respond to your voice."

"Do you want another kiss?" I asked the hand, noting that Joey's face was getting red. As if that was a signal, the hand pressed itself to my face. I kissed it again, but it didn't take my energy. It seemed to be relishing the attention I was giving it. I understood once again. "It's jealous," I murmured through the fingers that were trying to get inside my mouth.

"Jealous?" Joey asked.

"It wanted to get me off of you, and now it's forcing me to kiss it harshly."

"Do you want me to start running?"

"No, I think it's only feeling lonely and it wants attention." I began kissing it everywhere, nuzzling where I could and spoiling it in general. The hand loved it. It stroked my hair and the side of my face in thanks before coming back for more kisses. By the time we reached the nurse's office, it had proceeded to stroke my hair as I kissed its palm. It looked far healthier as a result of my pampering; where it had previously looked deathly pale it was a healthy pink with a bit of a flush on it due to my attentions. "Alright," I said to it. "It's time for me to go and renew my energy." The hand stroked me one last time, then turned to Joey menacingly before disappearing. Joey shivered, but I only laughed. "It wants to make sure that you won't put a move on me," I teased. "Luckily, it has nothing to worry about, eh?"

"Totally. I'm completely straight," Joey huffed, glaring at the space the hand had vacated. I felt a bit better about the whole mystery with Ryou. It was clear that I was not on his bad list; in fact, I was apparently dating his hand.

My relationship with my classmates, however, left much to be desired.

"What _happened_?" Miho burst the minute Joey and I walked through the door.

"Marik's exhausted, but he'll be fine in a couple of minutes, I believe," Joey replied. I nodded, having told him that the exhaustion was wearing off almost rapidly. It was strange, the way Ryou's hand had sucked away some of my life source and I'd replenished it within minutes…

"That hand…" Téa said quietly. I nodded at her.

"Ryou's hand, for sure," I said. "It didn't go away until I kissed it, and then it proceeded to suck away my energy." Téa frowned a bit, but before she could elaborate on the subject, our teacher decided to butt in.

"Now this is a great conversation and all, but we need to get back to class," he said, a bit flustered and utterly convinced that he hadn't seen what we all had seen. I gave Téa a look that indicated that we'd talk about this later, and life went on.

* * *

><p>Despite my non-verbal promise, I didn't speak to Téa for three days (mostly because we didn't have school the next day and the day after that. For the third day, I had no excuse. I couldn't even say that I was busy, considering the only thing I did when I got home was homework.) In all honesty, I was trying to forget the incident with Ryou. It was something that shouldn't have happened, especially since I dreamt that he clawed my throat out. I realized that it was probably not the best idea to involve myself into the entire fiasco, hoping that it wasn't too late to drop out of the race.<p>

Of course, when Ryou's foot came tapping at my visor, I knew that this wasn't the case. Kissing a hand is different than kissing a foot, though it refused my suggestion to massage instead of kiss. People around me looked at me with disgust as they passed by me, watching as I kissed a foot with gentle but loving hands. My energy was sapped again, but thankfully I was a bit early today and I could take a couple of minutes to relax. Unfortunately, that meant that I had to stay with the people who'd been ogling at me oddly. I felt humiliated. When I got to my class, I decided to say nothing on the incident and pretend like, once again, it never happened.

That was probably when the thumps were heard. Slowly, everyone In the class looked over at me. I shrugged at them, honestly not knowing what was going on. The thumps neared, and the class began to panic.

"Ryou's footsteps…" one boy whispered. A girl shook her head and began to cry. I bit my lip. I'd already kissed Ryou's foot; did he need me to kiss another one? But I could tell that this was different. This wasn't some foot or hand that needed loving attention. This was sinister, a foreboding feeling that only meant harm. Still, I could sense that Ryou had something to do with it. I waited patiently, just like the entire class, as the teacher bumbled on about the demographics of Europe and all the countries within the continent.

_SLAM!_

The students stood straight up, like bad children about to be punished. I looked down at my knees, feeling the growing horror that I'd felt in my dream. When the feeling grew unbearable, I snapped my head up to the frost-glass window of the door to see a shadow outside. A hand raised, and even our teacher was silent as he watched the events unfold. My terror grew and tears slid down my face. With a shriek, the ghost punched through the glass and we saw its face. Ryou was like a corpse held up with puppet strings. His jaw was gaping, and he continually made jerky movements as if his puppeteer made a mistake with the strings. He suddenly stuck an arm through the window, and I saw that his hand was rosy whereas the rest of his body was pale. Screams punctuated all around me, but Ryou didn't seem to hear them. He instead focused on one person in the room who, to my surprise, wasn't me. He was staring at Joey, who was hovering over me protectively. He stared at him for a full minute, his jaw twitching and dried blood flaking to the ground. Our teacher all but fainted, causing many of the students to panic. Some threw up and fainted as well. Most, like Téa, stood stock still and tried not to provoke it.

"WROOOAAAH!" Ryou cried. It was a powerful, haunting sound. The hollowness tore at my heartstrings, making me want to reach out and bring him out of his agony. As I stood, Joey moved as well and placed a hand on my forearm. At that motion, the ghost phased through the window and rushed at him.

"No!" I yelled, stepping in front of Joey hurriedly. The ghost immediately disappeared upon contact with me. I felt a cool breeze hit me with great force before everything became normal again.

"It stopped…" Joey panted. "It stopped…because of the light." I looked at him, confused, then noticed that the only source of light was a thin ray coming from a window that was not closed all the way. Our teacher had been showing us a presentation about Europe on the projector, telling us to close all the blinds. Whoever forgot to close them all the way very well saved our lives.

Our Geography class was dismissed, and all the students went home. After three days of recuperating, the faculty promised the parents that they would question the students as to what had occurred inside that classroom. I was somewhat relieved. I had already spent three days trying to forget about Ryou only to find out that that was pretty much impossible. I needed recuperating time so that Ryou could come to me without fear of Joey "stealing" me or something. Before Joey and I could start walking to the parking lots, Téa blocked our path.

"Okay, I need an explanation, and I need it _now_," she said, her voice wobbling as if she was close to tears. "What the hell is going on? Why is Ryou back? Is Atem back as well?" I looked at her with disgust, but relented. Téa had been in love with Atem, so Miho said, and I had to respect that.

"I don't really know what's going on," I said honestly. "All I know is that I kissed Ryou's hand and foot, and each time my energy was sapped out." Téa narrowed her eyes at me.

"There's something else," she hissed. "I know it." I looked at her oddly, frowning for a good measure.

"Nothing else happened," I insisted, but she suddenly fisted her hand in my shirt and glared at me.

"Tell me the truth, Ishtar!" she screamed. "When did this begin? Did you have another encounter with Ryou that you're not telling us about?"

"Hey hey, take it easy!" Joey yelled, grabbing Téa's fist and wrenching it from my shirt. She sniffled and wiped her eyes harshly. I considered her question. Any other encounter? My dream!

"I…dreamt of him," I said hesitantly. Téa looked at me with intensity, silently asking me to continue. "He was curled up in a fetal position and I reached over to touch him-" I decided not to tell them that I was trying to kiss him "-and he immediately got up and began eating my neck." Joey reared back slightly.

"Eating your _neck_?" he asked. "The kid's crazy!" Téa still stared at me.

"You didn't just touch him, did you?" she sneered. "You tried to _kiss_ him." I blushed heavily. "Believe it or not, this entire thing happened to Miho as well, a couple months back when Atem was still…" She cleared her throat and looked away for a moment before turning back and continuing. "She didn't let him eat her throat, though. If you don't let him, he doesn't. You…you let him, didn't you?" I bit my lip as Joey looked at me with a haunted look.

"Yes," I said quietly. Téa sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"I think that he loves you," she whispered. "I think that when you allowed him to eat your neck, he began to think that he could rule over you."

"No," I said. "It felt as if I was sharing my life source with him…as if he was less dead when he was through." I recalled how I had compared the carnage to love bites. "That's why his hand and foot became more alive when I kissed them." Joey suddenly started to walk away from the two of us, his head down and his bangs covering his face. I started after him, but Téa grabbed my arm.

"Don't," she said quietly. "The best cure for unrequited love is time and friendship." I stared at her. Unrequited love? I recalled how Joey had said that he was straight all while glaring at the spot where the hand had been. He'd been lying. If I actually had paid enough attention to him, I'd have known it.

"Then let me go," I said, resigned. "I need to give him my friendship." Téa let me go.

"Fine, but…don't screw this up," she said. "There's a method as to how one does these things. Also, for you in particular…don't forget that you may never see Joey again. I know that he means something to you. Show him that. I know that it'll all turn out okay in the end." With that, she left. I saw how exhausted she was, how exhausted she'd been since Atem's death. I didn't want to become like that: full of regret and despair. Even though she had helped in torturing Ryou, I found a little bit of respect for Téa. Following her advice, I went off to find Joey.

He was stewing next to his car and my motorcycle, but glanced up when he saw me.

"Great, _you're_ here," he grumbled before getting in his car.

"Wait," I said quietly. "I'm sorry that I don't feel the way you feel about me." He raised an eyebrow.

"What the hell are you talking about?" he asked. I backtracked.

"Aren't you…in love with me?" I replied. He stared at me for a full minute before he began guffawing.

"Wh-what?" he laughed, tears in his eyes, "_That's_ what you thought when you saw me walk off like that?" I began to blush hotly as his laughs grew louder and louder.

"It wasn't that funny," I pouted as he literally slumped in his seat, practically dying of laughter.

"Oh…oh god," he gasped, clutching his stomach. "You're insane…I told you I was straight!" I looked away, feeling my face get redder than ever.

"You could've been lying," I muttered embarrassedly. "Okay, okay, haha it's funny now stop!" Joey shook his head, a bunch of last minute chuckles escaping him.

"Dude…" he sighed, trying to capture his breath. "You're so dumb." I rolled my eyes, deciding to change the subject.

"Whatever. If you didn't walk away from me because of that, why did you walk away?" I asked. He coughed to mask a giggle before answering.

"I just got…upset. He's stalking you and ruining your life, and there's nothing I could do about it," he confessed. "You're like my best friend, Marik! We're the new students in the school of old students! I don't want to lose my only friend, and here he is with his hand and his foot and his attention complex. It's just not fair to you, and in turn I feel a bit responsible."

"You don't have to be responsible," I replied. "I was the one who kissed him. I pretty much allowed myself to become his plaything." Joey shook his head tiredly.

"It's not like that," he sighed. "Ryou's a dangerous kid. You said that he put his hand in front of your face when you were driving, and I could tell that he did the same with his foot. What if you had crashed, Marik? That's not too far-fetched, and you know it!" I frowned when I realized that he was right. I'd been close to rear-ending someone with my motorcycle because of the foot, and I had pulled over just in the nick of time. "And now I hear that he was tearing your throat out? Marik, there's something seriously wrong with the kid. He has to know that if he continues to do this, you'll probably die!"

"It's not _that_ severe," I protested.

"Hell yeah it is! Marik, don't you get it?" Joey snapped. "Ryou's taking your life, bit by bit, and making it his own!" I shook my head.

"I replenish myself…"

"No you don't. You may think you do, but I've noticed that you've grown paler and paler as the week's progressed. You're not healthy Marik. We have to do something about this before it gets out of hand." I looked at him, bewildered. Did I really look all that different from before? I looked at my hands. They seemed normal, but then again, everything would seem normal if I was looking at myself in a mirror every day. Maybe Joey was right, and at any rate, I needed to communicate with Ryou to find out what he wanted.

"What do you suggest we do?" I finally asked.

* * *

><p>We'd planned this for an entire week, but when we got to the school at midnight, I was terrified out of my wits. Ishizu was one room down from me and she could hear even the slightest of footsteps. While climbing down the tree outside my window, I had fallen at the sight of Ryou on the branch above me, watching me as I climbed down. I had tried to talk to him, but it was to no avail. He disappeared, leaving me with his tears. To my horror, I figured out that he hadn't been crying tears, but blood. Seriously, was Ryou a blood bag that leaked at the slightest touch?<p>

I decided to look into the fact later. Right now, I had to focus on gathering evidence with Joey. I checked to make sure that nothing important fell out of my bag, then bolted toward the school. I pretended that I didn't feel a sinister presence following me the entire way.

"Joey!" I called as I approached him. Joey immediately stiffened and turned, his finger on his lips. I was taken aback by his furious expression.

"Quiet, Marik!" he whispered harshly. "Listen." I stopped to catch my breath before straining my ears and attempting to listen. I heard strange whispers flitting across the bushes, whispers that wanted me to come closer and closer to the school…

Then, all of a sudden, I heard what Joey wanted me to hear. A sad song, sung from the depths of a person's lungs. It wasn't just any person, either.

"Ryou," I said mournfully. I felt my heart clench. I'd do anything in the world to make him happy again, but I just didn't know what to do.

"Marik, stop!" Joey snapped. I felt myself stop walking towards the school, an action that I hadn't even known I was doing. "Try not to listen to the song! It'll just draw you in, like a siren song." I wanted to listen to him. I wanted so badly to listen to him and stay safe. But my loyalty to Ryou called to me and I just had to heed it. "Marik, NO!" Joey followed me into the schoolyard, climbing over the fence as expertly as I had. I paid him no mind and kept walking towards my prince.

Joey's cries were masked by the rhythmic wails Ryou produced. It did indeed sound like a siren song. My inexplicable urge to rescue Ryou stifled my fear until there was nothing to fear, nothing to hide. I was only Marik, Ryou's prince, and he was mine. All I had to worry about was making him happy, and currently, that meant that I had to go to him. The world around me was shattering; the grass was uprooted from the very ground and the trees were suspended into the air before thrown down with extreme force that shook the ground. Joey followed me cautiously, trying to grab me and drag me away only to have Ryou's furious leaves slice his hands. I could only look over at Joey fleetingly. My prince didn't appreciate my attention being diverted, so I forced myself to focus on only him.

"Marik…" the reeds beside the pond cried. I looked over at them indifferently. The wind blew them away for stealing my attention for a minute. I turned forward again and climbed the school steps. Ryou's singing grew louder, but when I entered the school, all grew silent. I felt my strength, powered by my bout of hypnotism, leave me. Joey grabbed my arm just as I fell to the ground.

"Marik! You alright?" he asked frantically. I looked over at him, dazed, before coming to my senses.

"Shit! Joey, we shouldn't be here!" I yelled, grabbing his shoulders and shaking them. "This is a horrible idea! He'll kill us! Oh my gods, he brought me here…" I let my grip on Joey fall as I stared at the ground, going through a plethora of ways that Ryou could kill us. He wasn't my prince! He was my murderer!

"Marik, I don't know what the hell is goin' on," Joey said slowly. "But I think that if we want to learn anything, we'll have to go to the room where Ryou died." I nodded dumbly, stumbling as I walked over to said classroom. I knew that going outside was futile; Ryou's song would just grow strong again and get me back to the school, and Joey wouldn't be able to escape. In fact, I didn't want Joey anywhere other than beside me. He was in grave danger if he decided to stray from me and face Ryou's jealousy alone. I laughed inwardly without humor. This was a paradox that Ryou created for us: if Joey leaves my side, he'll be killed. If he stayed, Ryou's vengeance would only grow. I didn't know if I could protect him if Ryou's anger grew too strong…

"Luckily for us," Joey said. "I caught all that action on film. Y'know, the trees and the grass goin' everywhere?" I nodded to appease him, still wrapped in my thoughts. If Ryou killed Joey, there would be no one to blame but me. Joey only came because I'd asked him to. If he died…I don't think that I'd ever forgive myself.

My thoughts were interrupted when I heard a voice that wasn't mine or Joey's. Joey had heard it as well and he got his camcorder out immediately, taping the hallway.

"Bunny?"

"What the fuck?" I whispered harshly.

"-nny? _Bunny_?" It was a shallow voice, fragile. I felt my heart ache again, but this time, it was completely natural. The voice was incredibly depressing. Though I was sad, I was scared. I wanted to hightail it home, but I had no way to get out without Ryou calling me back. I gulped and continued onward, glancing occasionally at the silent Joey as we made our way to the Geography class. "Bunny?" The voice continued, crying out a plea for this Bunny character. The classroom was within sight, giving me the sudden urge to run to it and face my fears once and for all. I couldn't have Ryou harass me for the rest of my school life and I couldn't endanger Joey like that either. This confrontation…it would be the last.

I pushed open the door and took a deep breath.

There was nothing to meet me. All the calls of "Bunny?" disappeared, as well as the singing that had become a sort of background noise. I stayed put, waiting to know what happened next. There was no sound, only silence.

"Should we go in?" Joey said hesitantly. "Marik?" I tried to sense something, anything, but I knew that this was a pass between worlds. If I moved forward, I would be in Ryou's very grasp, unable to escape until he let me. If I stepped back, Joey would very well die. Ryou would think that I had abandoned him again, and he would certainly seek revenge by harming either me or Joey.

I had a feeling that I would be the lucky one in that situation.

"Come on," I said shakily. I stepped in just enough for Joey to come inside as well.

We waited. I knew that Ryou was in here, waiting with us. Waiting for us to make the first move. I wasn't stupid, though. He had to do something before I did something back. It was then that I noticed that he _was _doing something. Joey pointed at the walls just when I came to the realization.

"Marik…there's blood on those walls, and they keep coming," he whimpered like a puppy. I stepped in front of him defensively, frowning at the wall in question. He was right, as I now knew. The wall was seeping blood. What brought terror into my heart was not that the blood was dripping all over the place, but the fact that it was _throbbing_. Like a heart was pumping it in here…

"Am I dead yet?" came a whisper. Joey shuddered and pulled up closer to me. I clenched my teeth at the voice and stared at the table where it had come from. It was the teacher's desk, a familiar figure that I saw every day. Strange how it was now the source of my contempt. "Am I dead yet? Has he finally killed me?" I raised an eyebrow. He? Who was out to kill him? My mind raced. Frowning, I entertained the possibility that it Atem could've killed him. "Where's my bunny?" the voice whispered. He began calling the bunny again, but now, as he called, the blood pooled faster, sticking to the desks and the floor. More blood than could be in a human body; even I knew that. In the midst of it all, the boy was now shrieking. "Bunny? BUNNY?" Joey couldn't take it. He bolted toward the door only to see that it was crusted with dried blood and could not be moved with his strength. I stared at the table, mesmerized, as a broken body emerged from beneath it. The entire underside of the corpse's jaw was skinned, leaving shiny teeth that were always grinning. The corpse was bleeding profusely even though its body was rotten and withering. A horrid smell came from it; a smell that penetrated my sinuses and caused my heart to rampage. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't think. Ryou's grinning corpse came closer and closer, reaching out a hand and touching my chest clumsily. I stared straight ahead at the whiteboard, trying to ignore the fact that the slimy, bloody hand was rubbing my chest as a lover would.

"You…" it croaked. "Are the _prettiest_ little bunny…" I tried to pay attention to it, but my mind found a comfortable blankness. Ryou used his gnarled hands to slash at my chest, breaking the skin and tearing my shirt off. He didn't stop there, though. He kept scratching until I didn't hear the _scritch_ of skin cells sloughing off, but the wet sound of blood caking under his fingernails. I suddenly heard a scream behind me, but I couldn't move. I couldn't see what was happening to Joey as Ryou prodded my breastbone and lifted another flap of my skin. Joey's scream was harsh and grating as he continued to fight…something. What could he be fighting? I dazedly thought through the possibilities. Were there two Ryous? Was mine just a product of madness borne from my dreams?

Despite my torture, I didn't want to wake up.

"Mine…all mine…" Ryou purred, grasping my breastbone. I fell limp in his arms and he kissed me with his lipless mouth. I had no life in this boy's hands…I waited for him to finish me. With a sickening SNAP, my breastbone came away in his hands and revealed my heart, pumping slowly between my lungs.

"Yours…" I choked, wondering how I was still alive when my brain was still whirring with pain. Ryou nodded, smiling forever with his torn lip hanging from the top of his mouth. He leaned in and touched his decayed flesh with my freshly beating heart, ignoring all the blood that was in his way. When he finished kissing it with his teeth, he moved back and looked at me smugly.

"The only reason…you're alive right now…" he rasped. "Is because my spell keeps you from dying…" I nodded at him, gobbling up his words the way he was currently leaning in and chewing on my stringy blood vessels. I felt pain, but it was far away and ethereal. Joey's screams became gargles, and finally I managed to wrench my head and look over at him. "No!" Ryou cried. My heart started to pump faster as I realized that Joey wasn't moving, that he was just lying on the floor. I suddenly felt my pain and I screamed loudly, trying to pull away from Ryou. He gripped me tightly and pressed my mouth against his again, shoving his decaying tongue in and tickling my throat. My scream was drowned as he prevented my respiratory function by shoving his tongue impossibly deep, rubbing circles around the opening of my trachea. I clawed at him and cried tears of horror and fear, trying to get him off of me. But I was choking, and though I tried to turn my head to see Joey again, Ryou's tongue followed and only shoved in deeper, as if for punishment. My world went black just as Ryou retracted his tongue and opened his jaw to an abnormal size, swallowing me whole.

* * *

><p>"A boy was found in Domino High by a teacher who had opened his classroom before school to get his Geography class on track. The boy was a student by the name of Joey Wheeler, and he had apparent anemia due to the amount of blood lost in his system…" I shut the TV off, looking away. There was a scar on my chest from where the doctors had miraculously sown my stitches together, possibly with the aid of Ryou's spell. The scar was a jagged line across most of my left pectoral and some of my right. My throat was fixed as well, but I had an additional scar there, and my voice was slowly wearing away as the spell wore off. It caused Ishizu some concern, but no one knew what was going on, and I was the only suspect for Joey's murder. Most of my classmates went nuts at the sight of Joey's blood spelling out my name on the teacher's desk, but I suppose that the fact that my breastbone was lying outside my gaping, bloody body was also a cause for alarm.<p>

Currently, the police were patrolling my house as if I was going to maul an infant. I scowled as the television showed my house in aerial view with the police taking aim with their guns. Was this what Ryou wanted? Or had he wanted to kill me so that he could eat my remains in some sadistic way of showing affection?

I did not know. I only knew that whatever happened to Joey was going to happen to me next if I didn't do something about it…already I saw Ryou's depthless eyes and gaping maw staring at me through my mirror. I shivered as he came closer and closer, seeming to gain skin as he gained proximity.

"What do you want?" I asked as he floated right next to me. Ryou raised his hand and pointed at the mirror. From his vantage point, it seemed like he was pointing at _me._ I growled and turned to face him, only to see him disappear and a chilling laughter take his place. A moment later, Ishizu opened the door.

"Marik?" she asked hesitantly. "Are you okay? I'm…I'm just here to check up on you. Is anything hurting?" Before I knew it, I was hurtling towards her and hugging her as if I had reverted to my younger years. She looked at me with surprise, but hugged me back as I cried. So much had gone over the first month in Domino, and my sister was the only one who stood by me. So I cried to her and told her everything to try to make her understand: I wasn't crazy, nor a serial killer! I was just trying to figure things out…

She listened patiently, and when I was done she nodded.

"Marik. It's okay. We won't force you back there. You're not going to face Ryou again," she vowed. "I'll put some superstitious charms around the house-"

"No!" I cried. "Don't say that! If you try to prevent Ryou from seeing me, he'll hurt you!" Ishizu stared at me disbelievingly, but then acquiesced with my claim.

"So he's a possessive spirit, then," she mused. "There's only one way to solve this: we need to figure out his curse." I nodded from within the folds of her arms. "Do you know anything that would help us see what Ryou was like when he was alive? You mentioned something about a vision you had at school with one of your odd psychic friends?" I nodded. "Well, you said something about an…Atem, was it?"

"What about him?" I asked, withdrawing from the embrace. She had a concerned look, and knowing how she was serious when dealing with psychics, I felt safe.

"He died by Ryou's hand, right?" she asked. At my nod, she snapped her fingers. "I'll find out all that I can about him and give you the details, but you have to stay and rest. I fear that the only way one can get rid of a curse is to have a one-on-one battle of wills with the ghost." I saw tears in her eyes that she masked with her calm voice. Ishizu was as worried as I was about this curse, but she didn't want me to see her worry. We stared at each other for a moment and I noticed the hard lines around her face. These dealings with the cops and the murder was too hard on her, especially since I'd come home bloody and bruised. It hurt me to see her like this, so I made myself a vow. There was no way I was going to die in this curse, no matter what sort of trick Ryou pulled. I was going to succeed, and I wasn't going to let down the people I cared about. I didn't want Ishizu to end up like Joey, after all. The very thought gave me chills.

A policewoman eyed me through a window. Through her eyes, she was harboring a fugitive who was responsible for killing one of his classmates. The irony was that I was the only one who could prevent the same killing from happening again.

All the same, I felt sorry for both of us. I was quarantined in my own house and she was stuck watching me.

* * *

><p>It was only a couple days later that Ishizu came into my room with a manila folder full of papers and an exuberant smile on her face.<p>

"I've got it!" she yelled excitedly. "Atem bullied Ryou when they went to school!" I looked at her oddly as she smacked the manila folder down, and saw to my surprise an album of Atem's life, from his first days at birth to his last picture before death. "The sad part was that his parents were so egotistical that they practically shoved this at me and proclaimed that I was blessed to be one of Atem's followers. He must have been a very popular young man." I smiled at her attempt to cheer me up, but there was no emotion behind that smile. Despite the fact that Atem was a jackass in the past, his death was unwarranted. Ryou had no right to kill him for whatever bullying he did.

"I wonder why Ryou had to kill the guy?" I said with disgust. Ishizu didn't say a word, but she suddenly smacked the manila envelope on the table and looked at me with a hard stare.

"Marik, don't ever say that before you read the information," she said coldly. "Never judge a book by its cover. A ghost is never vengeful unless they have every right to be." I stared at her, a bit wounded, but she ignored my look in favor of pulling out another envelope. Why hadn't I asked for her help sooner? As the museum curator, she probably knew how to find the right information anywhere!

"What's that?" I asked hesitantly. Ishizu smiled and looked at the folder fondly.

"This is Ryou's folder. It's a tragic story, though. I'm afraid that you're going to have to change your previous thoughts on how Ryou killed the man," she said quietly. "First, let's look at Atem. He was the pride and joy of his family, often excelling at any game or any strategy. His life mission was to be the best he could be without harming others, and he hoped one day to form a career based on winning tournaments and helping people achieve their bests as well. That's the gist of what his parents told me. What the students said, however, was vastly different. The popular ones, according to one student, thought that he was the coolest person on the planet. The unpopular or mildly popular ones, however, saw him as a tyrant who only saw happiness in hurting others. His account comes from the fact that Atem nearly killed him for cheating on a game. If anything, he was the extreme one, Marik, not Ryou."

"Just like the vision…" I replied. "Where he was beating Ryou up…" Ishizu nodded, going along with my rambling.

"Ryou seemed like the perfect student to tease. All the other students had known each other from when they were young, but Ryou didn't know how to make friends since he was always moving in accordance with his father's job. Another student wrote that Ryou wasn't familiar with the hierarchy of the school, so when he shared a treacherous secret to Atem, Atem only used it to his advantage.

"He bled him," I gasped. How could anyone be so cruel?

"I spoke with Ryou's father, and he told me that Ryou was hemophilic," Ishizu said, masking her sadness with a neutral tone. "If he got cut badly, even once, he wouldn't be able to stop bleeding." I froze, thinking of the amount of blood that was in the room the morning people recalled Ryou's murder. I looked down at my knees, suddenly sick to my stomach. A cold breeze blew past me, and I felt the small sound of a child screaming, though it was faint. Ishizu froze and I knew that she could hear it as well. "Call him, Marik."

"Ryou," I whispered. The screaming grew louder, and it seemed to come from my room. Ishizu stood up, but I held out a hand and motioned for her to stay put. Her face was ashen, but she already knew what I had just recently learned: no third party should ever come between a spirit and the person who is being haunted.

The screaming continued growing louder as I slowly entered my room, and I suddenly began to smell the grass from our schoolyard. I was slowly entering the school, but quickly, as if every one of my steps equaled ten steps in this twisted dimension. I felt the wind sweep by me, but kept looking at the school. Or rather, where the school would've been if there was more than just a classroom to it.

"Bunny?" a soft voice whispered in my ear. I flinched and turned suddenly, but didn't see anything.

"Ryou!" I called in a trembling voice. "Sh-show yourself!" Smacking sounds met my requests as the bloody footsteps appeared before me, heading towards the school. They slowed as I went farther and farther away from them, but quickened when I neared them. I chanced a look behind me, but I didn't see anything but blackness…so there was no choice. I had to move forward, or face a void.

Despite the comforting thought of entering a void and getting lost forever, I decided to go to the school and face my worst fear. There was no way I would give in and create a never-ending string of deaths when confrontation can easily prevent them from happening. I gulped and continued forward, finding that my throat was tingling with the action. I opened my mouth.

"What…" I croaked, but before I could finish the rest of my sentence my voice box closed up and locked completely. I tried coughing or talking, but I couldn't. I was left to wrap a hand around my throat and made to wonder what the hell just happened to my voice.

Ahead of me, the footsteps stopped. I didn't want to do this anymore, but I couldn't stop now. With fear apparent in my eyes and my shivering stance, I followed the footsteps until they reached the classroom door. I stood outside the door, trying to pluck up enough of my courage to enter, when suddenly a voice as clear as glass sounded out.

"Come on in, Marik. You haven't brought anyone else, so I won't hurt you. Promise," said a voice as shy as snow, as gentle as the sun's rays, and as young as the spring grass. I bit my lip, but entered timidly. Ishizu told me to never trust spirits, even ones that seemed innocent at first glance, but I knew that I had to enter the room somehow. Relying on the voice was my only chance if I wanted to get enough courage to actually go through with this. "I'll let you share the ability to speak with me so that we can get along, but I'm sorry to say that I cannot risk any more speaking on your part."

I sighed and enjoyed the sound of my voice. I shut the door behind me, meeting Ryou's gaze, or rather, lack thereof. He was speaking with complete clarity and his lips and mouth were completely intact. In fact, he looked ethereal, like a beautiful statue that someone had magically imbued with the ability to move, all except for his eyes. They were still gaping, sightless holes that occasionally let down a stream of blood on his cheeks, marring the otherwise human picture.

"Why do you want me?" I asked softly. "You didn't even know me when you were alive." He smiled kindly, as if he wasn't a ghost capable of ripping apart a corpse until all the blood was drained.

"It really isn't a matter of wanting, but needing," he said lovingly, jumping off the desk and stroking my cheek. "You're the only way I could ever enter the afterlife." I tried not to flinch from his icy touch. "You see, I was unsatisfied with my life. Your sister showed that much. You make me feel…_alive_ again!" He leaned forward, as if whispering a conspiracy. "I want you to join me, Marik. After I've killed the entire town, I want you to come with me." I pushed away from him.

"You plan to kill the entire town? Are you crazy?" I shouted. He flinched and looked at me with hurt.

"You know what they did; all of them! It's not easy being hemophilic, able to bleed at the slightest cut!" he cried. "You understand, Marik! You're the only person who could _possibly_ understand!"

"Yeah, but I also understand 'forgiveness,'" I shot back, trying to make it seem like I was on his side. "It's hard bearing a grudge, and it's a vicious cycle. You feel exhausted because you're bearing a grudge, and then you feel resent at the ones you're bearing a grudge on because of your exhaustion, making you even more tired." Ryou shook his head, unrelenting. I approached him and put my hands on his shoulders.

"You don't have to forget, Ryou, but you have to forgive. It's for your own good. How tired are you?" I started to knead circles on his back. "Carrying this burden around?" At first, it seemed like he was listening. He relaxed under my touch and stared at me calmly with a hint of a smile on his face. I smiled back, filled with hope.

"You don't love me."

"What?"

"YOU DON'T LOVE ME!" Ryou screeched, pushing me away and clawing at my chest. "You think of me as someone to be pitied!" The blood-tears came faster now as Ryou tore my shirt off and started to rip at my scar. I screamed and fought him off, backing away, but he followed and resumed. I felt the spell take hold again as my vision blurred and I didn't feel Ryou pluck out the stitches, one by one. But then I remembered something, and I blocked him half-heartedly.

"You…promised," I croaked. "Not to hurt me." Ryou stopped tearing at my heartstrings long enough for me to pull away and out of his spell. I screamed at the pain, but Ryou only stood there and looked at me with hatred.

"Next time, I won't hesitate to kill you," he whispered softly, extending his blood-covered fingers for emphasis. I reached out to touch those fingers for a reason I could not name, but suddenly the classroom sped away from me and I felt myself flying back into my house. The sweet-smelling grass, the feel of the street beneath my feet, the darkness of the sky; they all disappeared. I was propelled onto my bed, huffing and gasping at the speed that Ryou had me teleported. Ishizu immediately entered the room, tears coursing down her face as she assessed me and asked me about a billion questions. None of which, of course, I could answer in this realm. Ryou had succeeded in stealing my voice in this spirit place.

"Oh my god, Marik," Ishizu sobbed, understanding. I had only seen her sob twice in my life, this time included. The other time was when our parents died, and I couldn't help but feel like that she had no hope for me anymore.

* * *

><p>After we'd been able to process the situation, Ishizu managed to pull out a note.<p>

"This appeared on the coffee table without warning," she whispered. "I was going to tell you about it immediately, but…your predicament got me off track." I looked at the note with foreboding. It was a piece of normal, college-ruled binder paper, the ones every student has in his or her backpack. I flipped it over and recoiled. There, in brown font that could only be dried blood, was a list of names. The first three had numbers next to them, but the rest of the list was long and named every person in Domino. I gasped as I realized that I recognized some of the names on the list, including my sister's. I suddenly grew angry. Ishizu had done nothing! Ryou really was instilling vengeance onto everyone!

But as I watched, things began to switch. The entire list moved down, save the first three. There was a gap where the three were separated from the rest, and I could only stare with growing horror as my name was written in fresh blood in the gap. Ishizu gaped next to me.

"Marik, how exactly did you 'fix' the problem?" she shouted, extremely upset.

"I tried to get him to stop killing, but he turned it around and thought that I was trying to betray him!" I replied, equally frustrated. "He said something about not 'loving him' and went completely berserk, threatening to kill me when we meet the next time."

"And when is that?" Ishizu asked reluctantly, gripping my shoulder. I looked at the paper again. The names before mine were cryptic, but I figured out that Aetm meant Atem and that Psagues meant Pegasus. Jeoy could only mean Joey. I snapped my fingers.

"Ishizu! Get me a computer!" I said. "I think I know what these names have in common!" Ishizu brought the laptop and gave it to me, her angered face telling me that she was impatient and that I had better show her quick. I typed in "Pegasus J. Crawford," and immediately a page came up with the same room that I had learned to dread throughout the past month. There was blood everywhere, as per usual, but Pegasus' corpse was all but demolished. Whereas Atem and Joey had merely been bled out of their bodies, Pegasus' skin had been torn off and strewn all over the place. I saw an eye dangling on the ceiling and bits of hair all over the place. Fingers were lined across the window, where scratch marks showed signs of prolonged torture, compared to Joey's relatively quick death. What I found the most interesting was that the lower half of Pegasus' body was gone, burned off by the apparent fire that took place while he was alive.

"What does this have to do with anything?" Ishizu hissed. I frowned.

"Obviously Pegasus did something to him," I replied. "I…I just don't know what." Ishizu slipped away from my side.

"You can find out," she said, bringing the note to me. "I'll help you. Touch the note and focus on remembering Ryou."

"That's it?" I replied. She frowned.

"Of course that's not it! I just gave you the easy part," she snapped. "I have to channel him and get to his memories, but since you're the only one who has seen him, you have to give me the basis." I nodded, appreciating the way Ishizu didn't force me to tax my strength. Her concern was killing her; I could tell by her expression. All the same, we both touched the note and closed our eyes.

I remembered how Ryou had looked like a graceful marble statue, beautiful but deadly. I remembered our kiss from when he killed Joey, the haunted look in his expression. I remembered how his hand had chased me to my classroom. I remembered meeting him for the first time, curled in a fetal position in my dreams.

And suddenly, I was remembering things that weren't from my memory. My own form was hard to take, so I had to choose a smaller form that would fit my vigilance but also my character. Slowly, I shrunk to a wolf, then a cat, then a rabbit. Once I finally decided to remain this size, I looked at Ryou in his class, at how Atem was pinching him and causing him to bruise. I saw how all the other classmates laughed as the bruise showed immediately, a large and mauve flower blossoming on Ryou's upper arm. I felt Ryou's fear and responded with sadness and pity. The memory began fading. I unconsciously turned my reaction into one of anger and it grew back. No, that wasn't right. I focused on reacting in a mutually benefitting way. I opened my mind for refuge, symbolizing open arms. Immediately, Ryou's distressed spirit filled my mind and I welcomed him with love, closing the rest of my mind to the bad memory. It wasn't as if it never happened, but as if there was someone on his side.

I was propelled to the next memory, where I saw Pegasus staring at Ryou with a sort of perverse gleam. I felt my breath catch as I saw inappropriate touches and advances made. Pegasus gained ground, and I saw the few people Ryou tried to tell didn't pay attention, even the administration. It was then that I encountered a wall of memory that didn't allow me through. I heard screams of "stop" and "sorry" with rhythmic thuds, and I knew what had happened. I felt a rush of anger give me the strength to force through the wall, but Pegasus had already left. There was nothing I could've done to stop it anyway, but I felt like I failed Ryou more than anything.

Despair, terror, disgust, hatred, terror, despair, sadness, loneliness. Opening my mind again, I felt Ryou's emotions tumble in and seek my comfort. I gave all that I had, even as the jerking sobs stopped and Ryou vanished from the table where Pegasus left him. Now I understood. This wasn't merely a burden of vengeance that Ryou had carried out of spite. This was fear and terror. Ryou had killed Atem to ensure that he didn't feel any more pain, and he'd killed Pegasus to ensure that he wouldn't feel self-hatred along with it.

Joey was next. I watched the scene play from Ryou's eyes again. I was wrapped in a golden light, representing his sanctuary and his affection. I saw as my mind slammed shut when Joey expressed his fright. I'd seen Ryou as an enemy, then. His refuge was gone, his only hope. I suddenly understood why he lashed out. I tried to open my mind, but I couldn't. I was too distant from the memory; I was about to leave the realm of Ryou's memories. I watched as he killed Joey, fear and disgust filling my features, but I also watched as he kissed me and pried my refuge open slowly. I was gone by the time I fell unconscious.

"-rik! MARIK!" Ishizu shouted. My body was being shaken. I snapped open my eyes and breathed raggedly.

"Ishizu, I made a big mistake!" I cried. I rushed to my room. "I have to go to the school right now!"

"How? Ryou's definitely not getting you there, and there are police patrolling your house!" she said. I thought about it, then rushed over to her closet. I pulled out the most revealing robe I could find and put it on, yanking my hands through the sleeves. Ishizu frowned. "You can't be serious! No one's going to fall for it, Marik!"

"Maybe not the ones who really know you, but otherwise there's really no one!" I replied, wiping the kohl off my eyes. "May I borrow your hair dye?" Ishizu gave a snort of disgust and handed it over. "Color contacts?"

"Marik! I'm not going to just take them out and give them to you! That's foul!" she protested. I rolled my eyes.

"The spares, please!" I growled, taking them out of the cupboard.

"How did you-never mind. Here, take my circlet…"

Within an hour, I was the perfect Ishizu. I tried to get my voice to sound like hers, but I managed a girlish voice, so the policemen wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

"If all else fails," Ishizu instructed. "Just give them a withering stare and make them shiver in their boots." I nodded. She had on my clothes and had managed to bleach her hair with household bleach in the time that I'd taken to get myself ready. Women were weird.

"Seeya, Ishizu. Thanks for doing this," I replied. She nodded, and we both looked toward the front door. I adjusted my sock-stuffed bra (just in case) and headed out with the gait of royalty. The policewoman asked for my ID, and I coolly arched my brow and handed her Ishizu's employment badge. She nodded at me and let me pass into the field of reporters. It was as simple as that.

"Miss Ishtar! Do you believe that your brother is a murderer?" one reporter asked.

"Excuse me, Miss Ishtar, but is this murder related to any others your brother may have committed?"

"Miss Ishtar, what does your brother have to do with Ryou Bakura's death?" At this, I turned straight to the camera and stared with venom in my eyes.

"My brother heard from school that there was a tragedy involving the Ryou Bakura student," I said in the most girly voice possible. "Check the corpse and see if it is my brother's DNA you find." I walked off and didn't answer any other reporters. Eventually, I headed toward the museum, where I knew they couldn't follow me.

"Good morning Ishizu," I heard a voice speak behind me before turning to meet Seto Kaiba, holding out a bouquet. He did a double take before peering closely. "Marik?" he asked.

"Shhh!" I hissed. "Look, I can't explain much, but know that Ishizu is in on this plan and she's dressed like me at my house, save the eyes." Kaiba thought about it for a second.

"You mean…in your clothes? Your midriff showing shirt?" he asked. I didn't even have to answer before he dashed off. "I'll be sure to call her Marik!" he hissed over his shoulder. I sighed, thankful that he'd left the bouquet behind so that I could hide my face behind it. I looked at all the doorways, but there were reporters on every end.

I remembered that Ishizu had a secret underground tunnel that she used to get around when she was being traced for the theft of certain items that she'd gotten at shady markets illegally. I navigated quickly, knowing exactly where the school was without having too much trouble. The thought of Ryou's vengeance wrought on the poor kids, and the fact that neither of them were really in the wrong was just painful to think about. I knew that I was the only one who could stop the massacre from happening.

I made it to school in record time. The bell had rung for the beginning of Geography class when I rushed in before our teacher could enter.

"Huh? Oh, Miss Ishtar! How did you get here?" the teacher asked. Anzu paled at the sight of me, as did the rest of what remained of my Geography class. I ignored them all and turned to the door, leaning against it and closing my eyes.

I could feel Ryou's anger from here. He was pained, hurt, betrayed, desperate, and just _alone_. I couldn't open my mind to him anymore, but I knew that he could somehow save himself from his own hold if he just received indication that there were people out there who cared for him. He could sense me, even though I was masked by Ishizu's disguise. A hand slapped the window and my eyes snapped open as the rest of the student body screeched.

"Go away!" he screamed in the spirit realm. I couldn't reply, of course, but I turned around and glared at him. His gaping eyes stared back with a ferocious snarl marring his otherwise pretty face.

"I hadn't understood when we met last, Ryou," I replied calmly. He still glared at me. "I didn't know what you'd been through, but now I know. Now…I know what I have to do to help you, but you have to help yourself most of all." Everyone had left the area clear due to the fact that they'd seen Ryou's face. I was free to speak as a man in a woman's garb.

"You're lying," he answered in his spirit voice. "You're reacting to my threat. Go away, this isn't the right time for the murder." I shook my head.

"I traveled back through time with the help of my sister, the lady I'm dressed as," I replied honestly. "If you don't give me a chance, I can't prove it to you. What have you got to lose?" Ryou breathed harshly in anger and thumped the window, hitting my face slightly.

"You'll betray me again!" he yelled. "I trusted you! I thought you loved me, but you were lying all along!"

"I never said that I loved you…" I said quietly. His anger grew, and suddenly the door flew open and I was blown in with a gust of wind.

It was the spirit realm, so all pretenses were gone. I found myself transform into a rabbit as Ryou approached me, a fearsome god in his own right. He sat on his throne of vengeance, and gestured to the sword on his right.

"You accepted me into your mind and you cared for me despite the fact that you hardly knew me…" he whispered. I couldn't speak. I could only stare fearfully at the large sword he brandished at me. Without my words, how could I defend my rights? "You learned everything about me and still you rejected me. You…you were the last person I could trust." I stared at him pleadingly, willing for him to understand. He looked away as he raised his sword. I tried to open my mind, but it wasn't closed in the first place, which explained why it hadn't worked. As the sword descended, I leapt to the throne and dodged it. Ryou gave me a bemused glare before he struck again, but I didn't pause as I dashed towards him. I was on his lap when he pulled out a dagger and brandished over me. I had only a second left of my time. I leapt and pressed my small mouth to his just as he plunged the dagger into my body. I felt my nose twitch one last time before I fell limp on the dagger.

* * *

><p>When I awoke, I was in my own body with Ishizu, the real Ishizu, looking over me dressed as Marik.<p>

"Are you okay, _sis_?" she asked worriedly. I understood that even in my disorientation, I had to play my part.

"Just fine," I whispered in a high pitch. "What happened?"

"Let's go home. We can talk there," she replied, and I realized that two police guards were staring at us as if the apocalypse was stopped by our very hands. I complied, and she helped me back home.

When we were through our door and the police were back to patrolling the house, Ishizu turned to me and slapped my face. I gave a yelp before she buried her face in my chest and hugged me.

"I thought you died," she cried. "I saw you crumpled on the floor of the classroom like that and I didn't know what had happened…I saw blood and then it disappeared and we were all freaked out…"

"Relax," I whispered. "I'm fine now. But…my spirit's gone." I looked to her, but she sighed and shrugged.

"The spirit you used was a similar spirit to Ryou's. All it means is that you can't communicate with him anymore and that you can't haunt anyone after your death."

"I can't communicate with Ryou anymore?" I replied. Ishizu shook her head, but stopped mid-shake as she glanced at a corner. I followed her gaze and saw Ryou in his full fleshed glory, complete with a pair of brown eyes.

He walked over to us and stared at me. I walked towards him and hugged him tightly, tighter than I ever could before. He didn't put up a protest, but hugged me back.

"I can't stay here for much longer," he said in a harsh, grating voice. "My body's been decomposed, so I'm only a spirit of Ryou. Not the vengeance, but the sadness." We just stared at him, waiting for him to continue. "I just wanted to thank you, Marik. Without you, life was almost hopeless."

"Don't say that," I replied. "You grew stronger for yourself. You overcame your vengeance." Ryou smiled.

"Once I could see that you cared, I had to try my hardest. And I won," he finished. His lower body began disappearing, and I felt sadness at the thought of him leaving. "I…I have to go."

"Is there any way I can come with you? Any way that I can make you stay?" I asked frantically. Ryou shook his head, smiling as the rest of him disappeared as well.

"I love you Marik, and I'll wait for you in the afterlife, but I can't stay, and you can't go. I would like to be selfish and ask that you do not love another while I'm gone, but I fear that's too much to ask.

"It isn't," I vowed as his face became translucent. "I promise. I'll be with you again, and no one will be in our way." He smiled, then, and after a light kiss on my mouth, he disappeared.

* * *

><p><strong>(AN):/ Eeee I shouldn't have left it there, but hey! At least Marik didn't die! I hated that Joey had to die though...well, he didn't HAVE to, but the story demanded it! I'm sorry!**


	23. Watch

**AN: I tried to write in someone else's point of view...and I failed horribly. Not to mention I can't resist plugging trustshipping in, like, anything. Luckily, this one's short haha.**

* * *

><p>Watch<p>

I'm an overprotective sister. It's a part of me, formed in response to the way Marik flamboyantly quashes all of my expectations.

We had lived in solitude for the longest time: Marik, Odion, and I. The only time we had ventured out of the tomb was that instant when Shadi had warned us about our mistake. I hated the thought of Marik being hurt, even when he killed our father. Even when he left and didn't want to come back. He was my family, and it drove me to near-insanity when I realized that he'd have another life of his own.

One that didn't allow me to save him if he needed saving.

Odion felt the same way that I did, but to a much lesser extent. It was simple for him: go and follow whatever Marik says, because Marik has a drive and motivation, and all Odion has to do is to keep him safe. I wanted the same, but I had my own qualms about it. I couldn't allow Marik to continue his path and get killed, so I did not sway my opinion on what he should do.

I was the bitch-sister. Bitchizu, he called me. I understood, I would be angry with myself if I was my own older sibling. But the fact of the matter was that I felt pain whenever Marik left and whenever he got into some new, much more dangerous exploit without my knowledge or protection. He was my little brother, someone who would look up to me with sparkling eyes and ask if I wanted to play. Someone who represented half of my remaining family.

I was always in tears when I went to Odion's room to talk about my feelings regarding Marik. At some points, I would lay on his shoulder and ask if it was incest, if my neurotic tendencies over Marik's welfare would overcome my senses and I was actually unhealthily obsessed with him.

Odion would always comfort me by giving me a light bop in the head. He would always say that there was only one thing wrong with being overprotective, and that was the fact that my stifling grasp was too much for Marik's sense of freedom. He told me further that my relationship with our younger brother was a vicious cycle: I would rebuke him for the most recent dangerous stunt, and he would try to break free of my chains by performing a more dangerous stunt. Odion always comforted me of my ludicrous thoughts of how my relationship was incest and whatnot. He was the sun of the three of us: the one who could pace through the day and make our worlds brighter.

At one point, during Battle City, I began to resent Marik. I hated the way he looked, acted, felt…I just didn't care anymore. Or so I thought. He then went and lost his body to his Yami, and I felt my worry escalate until I couldn't hold on and I wept in Odion's room for the rest of the trip. I couldn't help my anger and frustration. I'd told Marik to be careful, to watch out for anyone who may hurt him, to dabble in the less dangerous plains. It always came back to bite me, and I finally just let my heart fall to pieces.

Then I met Seto Kaiba. I thought he was an asshole, and it pissed me off whenever he'd flaunt his Egyptian God Card and give me those smug looks on how I was a gullible twit and he was a deceptive master. I'd seen the future, and I knew its course. Kaiba was a key role in this large game we called our lives, and he'd needed the God Card as much as I'd needed to give it to him.

When he came into Odion's room, I hadn't moved. Mokuba had been with him, I remembered, and the childlike concern in his eyes reminded me so much of a younger Marik that I felt fresh tears making their way down my skin.

"I didn't know you _could_ cry," Kaiba had snorted. I'd turned away sharply, not wanting him to see my weakness. Kaiba was a ruthless monster, as I'd come to believe. Though he cared, he had a pretense of smugness and hatred that, frankly, got on my nerves even if it was merely a pretense. I remember that I hadn't said anything to him, even when he'd tried to console me. There was an underlying bitterness in his tone, and I hadn't approved, much less acknowledged, his presence. It was when Mokuba wordlessly clambered onto my lap that I suddenly melted and hugged him to me tightly.

Mokuba was twelve. He was no child. But he knew what it was like to lose a sibling, and to lose two at the same time…he understood that I was devastated. Seto, of course, had no empathy. He merely stared at the way I held Mokuba and cried into his shoulder, but refused to do anything about it.

Well, at least, the first time.

He kept coming back into Odion's room with Mokuba, insisting that it was because Mokuba wanted him to come. I didn't speak with him, but I stroked Mokuba's hair and talked to him about his Duel Monsters Deck. Mokuba seemed especially keen on recollecting all of the troubles caused by the Pharaoh, Bakura, and Yami Marik in order to solve them, like a puzzle. I was just happy that someone was willing to listen to me and let me let out all the pent-up energy I had from wallowing away in Odion's room.

Odion, to this day, says that he felt the family aura around all of us, even Seto. I always caught Seto in the corner reading a book or looking through his cards. I always rolled my eyes at him when he did that, because I knew that he was looking up strategies or finding ways he could beat Yugi. I always thought that he was somewhat pathetic, save for the fact that he would do anything to save Mokuba. That, well, I understood fully.

I never really saw the two for a time after those evenings, as Marik had reclaimed his body and Odion had woken from his coma. There was a whirlwind of confessions and plans, and we were swept back to Egypt as if we'd never left in the first place.

By the time we reached our tomb, Marik had stopped for a moment, turned around, and wrapped us both in a hug. He didn't say a word, but I reached up an arm and patted his hair down. I started to soothe him with murmurs, telling him that everything would be fine now and that the Pharaoh business would soon be over. Our part was already done.

But then, he pulled away and went inside. He didn't come out of his room for the longest time, and though we were permitted to visit, he did not venture outwards. I then overheard him talking to Odion.

"But I loved him," he'd sighed. I had been confused, but Marik then had given a little choked sob and my sibling instincts had flared. "He succumbed to demonic and cruel acts, but he's going to die in the aftermath…and I loved him. He…doesn't deserve it!" There was only one person that immediately came to mind. Bakura. The Dark Bakura. I pressed a hand to my mouth in shock, but to my surprise, it wasn't much of one. I still saw the future without the Necklace because I knew the patterns and the wayward twists and turns it could take. The future was not concrete, and once the wielder of the Necklace had it for a long enough interval, he or she could see the future even without it being presented to them in images.

People are not hard to figure out, if you see the outcomes to every decision. I could see Marik's resentment, but by the time I knew that he was going to run away, it was too late. It was the same in this case. I understood that Marik loved Bakura and looked up to him as more than a partner.

So for a long while after the whole Yami Marik fiasco, and even after the Pharaoh eventually left, I kept a sharp eye on Marik and maintained my museum with him playing a key role. He understood my need to keep watch, but I tried to understand his needs as well and allowed him some freedom. Odion was my major guide, as he knew Marik better than he knew himself and often told me what to do and how to react in situations of tense measures. My major concern was to help him forget about the entire thing and move on.

This did not work as well as I'd thought. Much to my surprise, letters began to arrive in the mail from Domino City. This, I hadn't factored in. They didn't name the sender, but I didn't recognize the sending address, though the envelope was clearly addressed to "Ishizu Ishtar." The letters were never bulky, but merely detailed whatever Yugi and his friends were doing and how the city was faring. I found them scintillating, and I read them with reverence. I replied with courteous thanks and bade the sender to keep sending more, often sparring with him or her with words over subjects on which we had differing opinions.

When I had told Odion, he'd smiled and read them for himself, though he seemed slightly disinterested in everyone except for Yugi, Joey, and Kaiba's doings. I understood, as they were the ones who played a crucial part in the culmination of Marik's duel. Marik's reaction was a different one entirely. He snapped at me for not telling him about the letters sooner, then returned to his room to read them in silence. He was still bitter after the duel, whether it was because of his love for Bakura that was lost or whether he was stifled by his lack of freedom.

Eventually, I got sick of it. I asked the sender about how everyone felt about the loss of the Spirit. In order to get accurate results regarding Marik's feelings, I stated that I'd felt strongly for the Spirit (though it pained me to write it, as I'd thought he was a misguided fool) and that I wanted to know if anyone shared my pity and sadness at his absence.

The letters stopped then. I'd waited for three months, and Marik stood by me and stared at the mailbox as if expecting it to just pop up, but nothing was sent for a while. Marik didn't say anything, but he was notably duller.

I decided to focus my attentions on him, but not in a suffocating way. I began to ask him if he wanted to enroll in schools, join any clubs, or hang out with any of the people his age. He refused all the contentions and it only served to make me worry more. It was hard enough to see him and see only the shell of the passionate little boy he'd once been, but to see him and see the lack of trying was painful, and I couldn't help but think that it was my fault. I didn't push it, though, and let Marik keep up his day-to-day life. The only vice was that since I wasn't the one spurring Marik on, Odion tried to and it caused major disputes to break out between the two of them.

Odion only raised his voice to Marik once. When Marik was about to go outside to ride his motorcycle, Odion roared at him to stay home and quit complaining. Marik had shot him a venomous look, but had slunk off to his room obediently.

I felt my wits reach their end, and finally I took a day off of managing the museum to lock myself in my room and just _think_.

Marik loved Bakura. Whether or not he still did was confusing and difficult to determine without rousing some bombshell, but to be safe I had to assume that he still did. I looked to the future reverently trying to figure out what would happen, and what I could possibly do. I imagined chess pieces, turning the board this way and that. My mistake before was to miss the silent cues from different people at different times, such as the motorcycle magazine that enabled Marik to dream and eventually resolve to leave the tomb and cause a ruckus. This time, I thought of all the possibilities.

I spread the letters out before me. I glanced at the cursive writing before laying out each of the roles in my mind. Yugi was still a ball of energy and love, trying to spread happiness among everyone else. Téa was still a devoted, loyal friend who often kept the group together in moments of trouble, such as when Joey and Tristan fought about menial things (of which they did. A lot.) Ryou was still as happy and gentle as ever, and Miho often tried to get dates with him though he was never as enthused as she was. Kaiba had expanded his business to deal less with card games and more with all sorts of games, making Duel Monsters a part of an online role-playing game that was completely taking over the popularity of all other games. I couldn't help but linger on him, as the writer made his story somewhat curt and carefully written, as if there was some secret shrouding him.

Kaiba was still living with Mokuba. While Mokuba was enthusiastic about the progress and Kaiba's success in negotiating with Industrial Illusions to eventually take over their facilities, Kaiba was stoic and cold. The sender didn't emphasize this, but I knew that if anyone knew Kaiba, they would know that any success would only be a chess move in his favor. There was nothing more, nothing less. After Gozaburo, his entire life had become a chess game.

It was not hard, then, to figure out that the sender was indeed Seto Kaiba. Mokuba's handwriting was too messy, and no one else could know Kaiba well enough to provide cursory details without mentioning his coldness. I finally grew angry. Why hadn't he responded in all this time, then? I knew for a fact that while he was busy, Kaiba was still gracious enough to answer a letter, especially when the conversation was going on for a while. I also knew that he had a slow business this summer, as everyone in Domino was on vacation and no one had time to buy meaningless cards.

I resolved to write a letter, but then, I realized that he may have not answered my previous letter because of something that I'd said. I thought about what I'd written. It'd been innocent enough, a mere favor. There was nothing else that could have offended someone as great as Seto Kaiba. Perhaps he found it insulting that I asked for help? That I had the audacity to go to him and ask for help?

But no. That wouldn't make any sense. Kaiba would certainly do that, but he hadn't been Seto in his letters. The man had tried to remain anonymous, a pen among faces. He'd even spoken of himself in third person, as the letter writer had to have discussed himself in the letter (there was no one left unsaid), and he was trying to prevent me from figuring his act out. He would have known that I was asking a question of someone who I considered a friend, and his response ensured that I was, indeed friends with him.

Then perhaps he was in the process of gathering the information I'd requested? Kaiba was not sociable, and there was no doubt that the Spirit was not at the forefront of anyone's minds. But…I ruled that option out all the same. Yugi's group was not one to completely disregard the brothers, even if they asked about a touchy subject. It was not likely that it would take this long for one question, no matter how distant they were. There was probably another reason...

And, unbidden, the image of Seto holding my picture came to mind. I gasped and fell backwards. The image was vividly ingrained into my mind, as if I was still wearing the Necklace and it was providing me with this visual. I grasped at my neck just to make sure, but it was bare. The image clearly showed Seto's forlorn expression, as if he'd lost something precious to him. I felt my head ache as well as my heart. I didn't think that it could possibly be true, but could Seto be forlorn about…me? As I pondered this, I realized that there was no other viable solution. With that image imprinted onto my brain, I thought about how my little brother had been acting. The slumped expression, the reclusiveness, it was no different than Seto's weary eyes. I determined that staying in Egypt would simply not work out. Both Marik's heart and my own resided in Domino from the small excursion, and though it seemed selfish, Odion's heart lay with ours. I gathered the notes and read through them again, finding hints of longing now that I knew what to look for.

Then I found it. A small sentence that I'd overlooked when I'd first read it. It said that Ryou was a bit wistful, and often spaced away. But I could tell that it was important because the note had been wrinkled and unwrinkled, as if in frustration, and also worn with immense handling and smoothing. Marik had really liked this note, and the smudges along the sentence indicated that he'd read it many times.

So…it wasn't the Spirit that had Marik so enamored. I decided that my preparations had to start as early as possible so that I could redeem myself as a sister as well as a woman worthy of carrying Seto Kaiba's heart.

* * *

><p>"We're going on a ride," I said suddenly. I had spent three days filing donations and taxes into my museum log with no results on my quest to aid Marik and myself. A haphazard plan happened to soar into my mind at the very last minute, however, and I stood up from the lounging area of our house. Odion looked up from the dish he'd been cooking (he was the only one in the house that could actually cook) and Marik snorted from the couch across from me.<p>

"Whatever. I'll fall asleep within a minute," he yawned. I smiled at him. I was counting on that.

"Alright. Let's go, Odion. And bring a thermos of warm milk as well." Odion knew that I was up to something, but he didn't say anything. I felt gratitude swell in my chest, as I'd wanted to keep it a surprise and if Odion began asking questions, Marik's constant whining would have me erase my plan before it could even come into fruition.

We gathered into the car, which was somewhat beat up, but still functional. Marik sat in the backseat, and I urged Odion to sit with him for "safety reasons." In reality, I wanted Odion to watch so that whenever Marik woke up, he could give him a sip of warm milk and instantly have him asleep.

The drive was relatively far, all things considered. Marik's eyes grew duller and duller as we passed through the city until he was lightly snoring. I smiled and shook my head slightly when Odion spared me a questioning glance before furrowing his brows and staring out of the window, trying to keep track of where we were going. I wasn't worried, though, as I'd been the only one who went out of the house most of the time, and Odion was mostly working in the other direction, so he had no reason to drive to this part of town.

Marik mumbled in his sleep. I wanted to hear, to crane my head and figure out what he was saying, but I couldn't. I struggled, though, until Odion gave a heavy sigh and tilted Marik's head one way.

"Ryou…mmm…don't go…" Marik mumbled. "Don't…leave me…with your Yami…" I gave a sigh. I knew that Marik was enamored with Ryou, but it would have been better if he at least confirmed my theory so that I wasn't completely shooting in the dark. Odion smiled at my frustration.

"If you tell me where we're going, I'll tell you about Marik's full feelings," he bartered. I glared at him through the rearview mirror, knowing that he had the advantage and not liking it one bit. I'd wanted this to be a surprise for Odion as well, but I knew that once he had a deal in mind, there was no negotiation to be made unless I was as manipulative as Marik and able to weasel anything I wanted. Of course, this wasn't the case, so I was left spluttering out my half-assed plan to Odion while also filling in the blanks to my relationship, if there was one at all at this point, with Kaiba. He sat there, slack-jawed, as I filled him with all the information about my drama and need to prove myself to Kaiba.

"Sounds like you have your work cut out for you," he said smoothly, his voice barely betraying a hint of emotion. I clenched my teeth and glared at the windshield.

"I know. Now why don't you tell me about Marik's feelings? I don't want to be driving this entire way for nothing," I snapped. Odion nodded, unperturbed by my anger.

"He talks about him a lot," Odion said. "It's always about how Ryou is pretty and Ryou is smart. I was, admittedly, surprised when I first heard about it from him, but I think that he seemed to know that you already knew."

"Or he knew that I'd accept his feelings," I scoffed. Homosexual relationships meant little to me in terms of what was right and what was wrong. I grew up in a world where the only thing that was wrong was an unhappy Marik, as he was our pride and joy as well as the only one who survived the Initiation and could show the Pharaoh his memories. There were no other regulations, and Odion knew this, too. With Odion, however, the future was foggy and unreadable. I knew the course, and had occasional, vivid flashes of the future as an aftereffect of being the last wielder of the Necklace. If Odion had been trying to pull the wool over my eyes, his efforts would have been completely futile.

I parked the car. Odion's eyes widened as I pulled a few tickets from my purse and got out of the car just as a plane was flying overhead.

"So this is going to happen, then?" he voiced. I nodded.

"We're heading back to Japan," I confirmed. He grinned at me, a bit unsure but elated all the same. He understood that this was my only choice, so he merely picked Marik up and walked over to the plane gates.

It was a funny sight, really. Marik looked drugged on warm milk and half-walked, half-stumbled through the airport. Once he gathered his bearings, he took a weary look around, decided that it wasn't worth his time to figure out where the hell he was, and stooped against Odion again as we led him into the plane.

The flight was uneventful, but Marik was slightly awake by the time we landed. Odion had exhausted his warm milk supply (as it had gotten spoiled), and Marik had been a bit more awake since he went to the restroom and underwent the lovely sound of a sharp toilet flushing.

"Um, how the fuck did we get on a plane?" he yawned, his eyes instantly snapping on me. I smiled mischievously, shrugging my shoulders in a manner that was solely older-sister-like. He glared at me, all traces of sleep gone. "Ishizu, what did you do?"

"Let's just say that we deserve a vacation after all of this monotony," I said whimsically. "It's a surprise trip." Even as I said that, Marik's eyes widened and his face broke into a wide grin. After all, we'd only been to Domino. There were no other places we could have possibly considered vacation areas.

"You're the best, Ishizu!" Marik gushed, throwing himself into my lap as if he was five all over again. I smiled at him, realizing that this was the first time Marik had shown me such affection in a while. Odion chuckled at the two of us, probably noticing my glee at finally being recognized as "the best" instead of "Bitchizu."

It was very funny to see him getting off the terminal, especially compared to the way he'd gotten on the plane. As we hurried to our luggage cart, Marik shed about seven years of weariness until he was a child again, looking at wonderment at the different sights and sounds that Japan brought and recognizing them once more. It was hard not to think of the ten-year-old who had not lost his innocence in the Initiation, and I felt a swell of hope as I realized that no matter how long the scars stayed, Marik would be able to look past them.

"Is anyone picking us up?" Marik asked me. I flushed and shook my head.

"I wasn't able to get a hold of anyone," I lied. Odion and Marik gave me a look of disbelief, and I understood. If I, Ishizu Ishtar, the most resourceful person on the planet, wasn't able to get a hold of someone, then the world must have been ending.

"Ignoring that blatant lie," Marik jibed, "How the hell are we supposed to get out of the airport?" I knew that the jibe was harmless, so I smiled and ruffled his hair.

"I don't lack complete foresight," I scoffed. "I rented a van. I believe that's the one; the one holding the 'Ishtar' sign. Oh! I _told_ them it was 'Ishtar,' not 'Ishutaru!'" I waved the man down and he nodded at us. Odion hefted our bags over his shoulder and we shuffled our way into the van. Marik squinted a bit in confusion, but then his eyes widened and he smirked.

"Couldn't get a hold of anyone, eh?" he laughed. "Then what's Kaiba doing in our van?" I felt my heart stop and all the blood run from my face. Odion and Marik looked at me strangely as I froze mid-step, glancing inside the van to see Kaiba's sharp profile from the van window.

"Ishizu?" Odion asked carefully.

"Ishizu!" came a sudden cry, and before I knew it, a mass of black hair hugged me around my shoulders. I caught a sniff of cologne before the mass pulled back and grinned at me.

"_Mokuba_?" I all but shrieked. "What…? How…?" He was so big! His voice had gotten a bit deeper, and he was certainly tall enough to make me feel like a dwarf by comparison. Marik searched the van to see if anyone else had come to visit us, but there was no one else. Mokuba hugged me again.

"I missed you!" he cheered. "And did you really think that we wouldn't know the minute you came into town? We're the hottest corporation right now! Everything that goes on in the city is at the forefront of our databases, right Seto?"

The car fell silent as Seto gave a careless incline of his head. I frowned a bit, knowing that his stoic nonchalance was my fault, but before I could speak, Marik took the reins of the conversation.

"Does anyone else know we're here?" Marik asked excitedly. That was what brought a flash to Seto's eyes as he stared at me.

"Yugi and his friends all know, and are expecting you in the manor," he said with a bit of a "hmph!" at the end of his sentence. "Ryou, it seems, had a bit too much excitement and insisted that they wait outside to make sure that I, and I quote, 'Didn't pick up the wrong Ishtars.' How heartless do they think I am?" It was an attempt at a joke, but only Odion and Mokuba laughed. Marik was a bit pale, but had a wide grin plastered across his face. I, on the other hand, held Seto's gaze and smiled at him, even as he turned away.

"I highly doubt that the one who insisted on meeting us here is heartless," I remarked. "In fact, I would venture as far to say that he would have the biggest heart of all." I blushed at my own forward words, but the effect was instantaneous. Seto's eyes began searching mine, looking for answers. I kept smiling at him, leading Mokuba to break our concentration by giving Seto a sharp jab in the hip.

"Hey! No more lovey-dovey conversations!" he griped. "I'm still too young for this!" This time we all laughed, not because the joke was that funny (Mokuba was a prankster, and he usually came up with better jibes) but because the tension was finally eased. We began talking about meaningless things, though I knew as well as Seto that the most important article of conversation was to be between us and us alone.

We reached the mansion with no incident following the broken silence. I marveled at how large it had become, wondering how in the world Seto could possibly agree to having such a large fortress for only two people. Even if he adopted the entire Domino Orphanage, he still would've had spare rooms to fill! Marik's eyes brightened as he saw the welcoming committee at the forefront of the gate, and I watched carefully as Ryou's fists anxiously clenched the poster with his name on it.

It was clear that the others were wary of Marik, but they were ignoring their prejudice of his past by waving numerous "Marik" signs as opposed to my name and Odion's name. With Ryou, however, the excitement seemed genuine. Once he saw Marik come down from the truck, a large smile stretched across his face and he waved his sign exuberantly. Marik, to my surprise, didn't maintain eye contact with Ryou for long, and in fact started thanking Yugi first, making his way along the group and shaking Ryou's hand without a lot of emphasis. Oh no. No, this was not happening under my watch! I had worked too hard for my stupid little brother to merely glance over the object of his affections…!

"Marik," I sang. "I believe you have something to say. If you do not say it, I believe that I will have to do so in your place." Marik glared at me.

"I-I'll get to it!" he protested. I smirked at him and Odion shook his head at our exchange.

"You keep insisting that you don't have a close relationship to our brother," he sighed exasperatedly, "But I swear that you can read each other's minds." The joking tone of his voice told me that he wasn't offended in the least, but I knew what he meant. It wasn't the fact that we were related by blood, but the fact that I was Marik's sister and also the seer of the future, enabling me to understand his actions and predict them.

"H-Hi, Marik," Ryou said shyly. When Marik reciprocated the greeting, Ryou's face turned red and he practically leapt on him. I felt my eyes widen in surprise, and I must've looked comical with my slacked jaw and wrinkled nose. If anything, I hadn't expected Ryou to make the first move. Judging by the others' expressions, they hadn't expected it either. Marik himself looked surprised, but not without a pleased look about him.

Odion understood though. Despite his previous admission, he was the one Marik had confided in, and undoubtedly the one who understood Ryou's motives better than Marik could himself.

"I suppose we were sorely missed," he said calmly, merely raising an eyebrow at Ryou's forward gesture. Yugi nodded exuberantly as everyone else melted into their familiar places.

"It felt so…wrong to just end it on that note," he said. "To just have you all move to Egypt and never come back."

"Haha, right!" Ryou said, feeling flustered as he backed away from Marik. They both looked at the ground awkwardly, and I was in shock at how my loud-mouthed, brash brother was reduced to such mush in the face of such a timid individual.

"Let's head inside," Seto said quietly, looking extremely confused. His eyes strayed from me, to Ryou, to Marik, then back to me. As if a subliminal message passed between us, we met each other's eyes and followed the others slowly so that we could have time to ourselves.

"So…" he began. "Care to explain?" I raised my eyebrow to him.

"Marik and Ryou obviously feel for each other," I said coolly. "That's the major reason we came back." His expression remained unreadable, but I understood through his body language that he felt a sense of relief as well as a sense of frustration. For what, I remained at a loss.

Mokuba, thankfully, came in between us.

"So, did you figure out who the letters were from?" he asked foolishly. Seto gave a growl and Mokuba flushed before clapping a hand over his mouth. "Ah, well, I guess it's obvious now!"

"It was obvious from the beginning," I laughed. "I just had to look hard enough and think outside the box." Mokuba looked at me with the question clear in his eyes. "Well, let's see. They hardly glanced over the details regarding the Kaiba brothers, implying that the sender was trying to limit his observations about himself. Combined with the amount of resources needed to track down people who otherwise had no records, I deducted that the only company with that kind of advantage was KaibaCorp. So that left me with two people to choose from. Actually, it was rather surprising that it was you who sent the letters, Mokuba. You must have improved your penmanship." Mokuba's eyes turned wide.

"Wait! How'd you know?" he spluttered. I smiled.

"You care about me and Seto very much," I said. "Knowing Seto's pride, the letter couldn't have been from him." Seto gave an indignant snarl at that, but Mokuba nodded as if the fact was common knowledge. I laughed for a bit, then lightly touched Seto's hand. "The main reason that I understood, though, was my vision. It was clear that the letter couldn't have been written by Seto, because the vision of him looking over my letter came from a third person. That third person had to have been you, Mokuba." Mokuba grinned and hugged me around the middle again.

"You're seriously too smart for your own good, Ishizu," he laughed. "But you're right, even if Scrooge here won't admit it."

"Actually," Seto coughed uncomfortably. "I…don't really have anything to hide." I felt my face heat up as he glanced at me. "You are one of the smartest people I'd ever met, and I was…disheartened to hear that you would be leaving." Mokuba raised his eyebrow in an annoyed fashion. Seto gained a slight flush as he glanced away from the two of us. "And I have already made accommodations for you and your family within the mansion, so there is no need to book a hotel."

"I suppose that's the most we're going to get out of him," Mokuba sighed. I remained speechless. "Ugh, come on! You're wooed by that meager admission? He should've told you that he loved you! Then you should've kissed, gotten married, maybe had some kids…?"

"Mokuba," Seto said harshly. "Get inside." Mokuba laughed and gave me a wink before shuffling inside. We remained outside for a minute, just staring at the ground, before I turned to go inside. I was shocked at Seto's statement, no matter if Mokuba thought it was meager, because it was the first physical indication he gave that he wanted me to stay. "Ishizu," he suddenly said. I turned toward him, feeling a bit mixed. "The letter…?"

"You mean about my 'affections for Ryou?'" I said lightly. Seto looked to his right and I could see that Marik had tugged Ryou out into the side gardens, obviously trying to escape the rest of the group. "That was a lie, if you haven't figured it out." Seto rolled his eyes.

"Of course," he scoffed. "You still have low expectations regarding my intellect, I presume." I smiled.

"How can you doubt it?" I retorted. "I'd have thought that it was clear that Ryou was never interested in women, and yet you forced Mokuba to stop sending the letters due to a jealous silence." Seto coughed uncomfortably, a flush streaking across his cheeks.

"I missed you, Ishizu," he murmured, holding out his hand. I took it and forced his eyes to meet mine.

"There is no way I could stay away from you," I replied, a blush of my own heating up my face. "Even without Mokuba's letters, I couldn't stop thinking about you."

Out of the corner of my eye, I spied Marik throwing his arms around Ryou and pressing them into a heated kiss. I grinned as I threw myself at Seto. I suppose there were some things that Marik and I just had in common in spite of our many differences.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for readingggg!<strong>


	24. Xenia

**(A/N):/ Not gonna lie, this one's trippy. Well, towards the end. I kinda went crazy with this.**

* * *

><p>Xenia<p>

The wriggling boy was really just…pathetic. He was a little younger than me, but I already knew that he was one of _those_ people from his shocking white hair. The banished ones.

The hell was he doing on my doorstep, then? Was he looking to be killed? From his appearance, he was already half dead with bruises and blood littering his body in the most inopportune of places. His mouth was all but torn open, so he couldn't actually talk. At least, not for a while. I perused him carefully, making sure that he wasn't hostile and secretly ready to pounce. He kept wriggling, trying to make his way onto the last step. I inwardly flinched in disgust.

By all matters, I should've slammed the door in his face. He was an alien, an outsider who did not share our customs, who did not understand our behavior. Ishizu would've killed me had she known that I lingered too long in rejecting him. Odion would've helped her attempt to "cleanse me" of the alien's "filth." And he was disgusting. His skin was sore and bruised, his hair matted with dirt in a clear attempt to look normal, and his eyes were the pale, washed-out blue that signified who he was.

An albino child, forbidden in our village. Our leaders stated that he was unfeeling, that all his emotions had drowned with his color. All of their kind had been led away to die in the desert, and there had been a great many as the gene had passed down the generations. Here was one in front of my very own eyes, crawling up my doorstep and leaving trails of blood in his wake.

Why hadn't I shut the door yet? Why hadn't I screamed at him to leave and alerted others of his unyielding presence?

Why was I exposing myself to this witchcraft?

My hand shot out then, because I knew that there were two ultimatums. Either I didn't help him and shut the door, an option that I just couldn't complete, or I yank him inside before anyone noticed and said that I was a "traitor in need of cleansing." Luckily, Ishizu was gone on an extended voyage to visit with the gods in their temple and pay homage from the Ishtar family. I had an entire month before she came back.

Odion, on the other hand, would be back in seven hours.

The boy moaned in pain, blood trickling from his mouth. His salty tears were dried, but he sobbed as if he couldn't produce anymore. He was a slew of problems: too thin, too sick, too hurt. I set my mouth into a grim line. I didn't know how I would handle this, but I knew that if I kept him in the entryway, he would die.

"Okay, I don't know who you are, and I don't know why I'm doing this," I said, heaving him up. "But I'm going to help you. I'm going to get you healed. So stop crying." As if he had never followed directions in his life, the boy clung to me and cried harder. I was afraid, _gods_ was I afraid, but I knew that I couldn't let this minor setback get to me.

* * *

><p>If he was out of tears, then the first thing he would need was water. I got him a glass full before I started to prepare the food. Our house was right next to a spring that diverged from the river before everyone else got to it, making our family blessed with luck. Too often did the Kaiba family watch our house enviously, perhaps yearning for the property, but too often did my sister's holy presence and her affiliation with the well-known Mutou family intimidate them into backing away.<p>

He drank the entire glass within one gulp. I immediately replaced it. Once more, he drank, trying to get his tired, desperate body to drink, drink, _drink_ before his life slipped away.

"Slower," I said calmly. "Or you'll drown yourself." I was training to become a cook myself so I could uphold a trade and keep to the estate, but I knew a few medical tips as well thanks to my close friend Yugi Mutou from the aforementioned family, the littlest brother but one whose heart was pure gold. He was practicing a much harder, but much more rewarding trade and he often shared with me two or three facts a day, no matter how annoying that seemed.

The boy, however, didn't heed my advice, and within seconds he was coughing and vomiting his water.

"Ah! Ew!" I said, backing away hurriedly. I felt my own insides start to churn as the smell of his vomit began to take its toll on my nose, stronger than even the smell of his blood and pus. "…I can't do this…" I needed Yugi, but I also knew that he couldn't keep a secret to save his life and that the Mutou family had been the one to state that albinos were forbidden from the village in the first place. But there was no one else that I could trust that also practiced medicine. I couldn't…I….I was helpless.

Then the boy looked at me with true misery in his eyes. I knew that the lack of color was evil, I _knew_ it, but they looked so…sad. And he was in such pain…I couldn't look away. I mustered all the courage and strength I had, then walked to him. I stepped over the vomit and held him. I could tell by his short breaths and dilated eyes that he was panicked, so I rubbed soothing circles on his back.

"Relax, just let it out. You're not going to die," I said. "I won't let that happen." The boy shuddered a bit before weakly leaning against me and sobbing. "No, just breathe. Concentrate on that only. In, and out. In, and out. Follow my lead." It took a couple of tries, but he managed to shakily draw shallow breaths with my commands. I smiled and rubbed his sides in encouragement. "Now I'm going to look over your injuries and dress them. This will hurt, since I'm going to use a bit of alcohol." At the mention of pain he made a strange gargling noise and struggled against my grip. "Okay! Never mind, no pain." I kept hugging him and rubbing his skin. "No pain. No more pain." On a whim, I began pressing kisses to his head, the same way Ishizu had when she wanted to comfort me.

"You'll be alright," I repeated, as if it was a mantra. "You'll be safe." He was back to relaxing into my arms, and suddenly, he fell limp. My heart leapt to my throat, then froze there. "Are…are you awake?" I whimpered. "H-hey…"

He was breathing, but that wasn't any relief to me. I'd heard of spells where people stayed breathing and resting, but never woke up. He was probably just exhausted…but I was still filled with fear.

I couldn't do this alone, no matter what. I bit my lip and laid him down. I had to tell Odion when he got home, but in the meantime, I had to clean the boy's cuts.

Ishizu kept the liquor cabinet locked at all times. We'd had thieves attempt to steal the precious liquid that we used for medicinal purposes, so we kept it hidden as well. I secretly took a clear bottle and a clean rag that Odion had recently washed and folded. On the way back, I smelled the stench of vomit and wrinkled my nose before taking another rag and a sacred scented candle. I needed all the magic it could offer, both by its physical and its spiritual presence.

I dropped off the items and went back to gather a jug of water and some flowers from our personal garden outside. I took note of the fact that there were copious amounts of blood on the ground where I'd let the boy inside the house, so I promptly emptied my jug of water and scrubbed away the stains. I then refilled the jug, dragged out a basin, and pushed it to my room.

"Okay, so this water is going to be cold," I began, as if he was still awake. "But it's the only quick solution." I poured it on his hair, grimacing as the dirt and grime fell away and turned the bottom of the basin black with their residue. "I'm going to need a lot more water for this."

I'd dragged Ishizu's basin, filled with water, to the room with no small effort. The unconscious boy remained on the bed, getting his soaked, dirt-ridden hair all over my pillow. I growled and sat him up, pouring another dash of cold water over his head. I'd vainly hoped that he would've woken up with the sharp chill, but he remained asleep.

All of a sudden, Yugi's advice echoed sharply through my mind.

"Hot or warm water is best for curing wounds. The bacteria and other pathogens die with the heat."

I slapped my hand to my forehead and ventured to the corner of my room. Taking out my flint, I struck repeatedly until I could get the kindling lit, then placed a pot over the fire and filled it with water. It would take a bit for the water to heat, so I proceeded with washing the boy's hair completely.

He would need much more washes to get the dirt completely out of his hair, but I'd gotten most of it out by the time I noticed that two hours had passed. Odion would be back soon, early in the morning. Though he'd bring with him food, I knew that we would be feeding more than two people and realized that I'd have to share with the boy if I wanted to have him survive.

I marveled at how my confidence seemed to be returning. Once again, Odion didn't have to know. Nothing horrible was happening. I'd wrapped the boy up in a blanket and dried his hair before slowly inching the blanket from his feet, dressing the sores and blisters there before giving a light massage to get the feet warm once more. It took longer than expected, and I glanced at the water, willing for it to hurry and boil faster.

I'd made it to the mid-thigh in terms of dressing his wounds and disinfecting them before I stopped and blushed. I didn't want to take off the remaining amount of clothing he had…but I had to do so in order to heal him. I attempted to distract myself by walking over to the pot and examining the water, but it was still lukewarm. I hissed and made my way back. I couldn't let a stupid, childish sense of sensitivity hinder the saving of a life! Even if I liked…men, I couldn't let my preferences make me modest in such dire circumstances…!

I strengthened my resolve and became emotionless. I cleaned the wounds around his penis and hipbones, noting that there were copious amounts of bruises. I knew what I would find when I flipped him over, so when I did so, I only felt a deep sadness in seeing how he was violated. I did my best to clean him thoroughly as Yugi instructed, moving onwards onto his back. There were large slashes there, painting the white skin with red. I frowned as I tried to bind them tightly, but they were against his skin alignment and I found myself attempting to stitch the scar together after cleaning it. I did a stable job, but it was incredibly ugly, much like the scars that marched across my own back. I stitched a couple of other deep cuts on his chest and back, as well as one that happened to stretch across his face. I applied a sort of salve onto his mouth and sat back.

He was a long way from being healed, but he was resting. His bruises would fade (I didn't know what to do about them) but it would take a long time. His scars would remain forever, and he would probably have to stay inside for the rest of his life. I felt my heart wrench. Why was I thinking of him as a person? I mean, sure, biologically he was a member of the kingdom Animalia, Homo Sapien Sapien, whatever. But albinos were condemned by the tribe, written off as cold-hearted souls that remained emotionless to the world. That's what our leader had said.

And yet, here was one who clearly pleaded for help, whose eyes spoke to me beyond generations. I couldn't just ignore him.

But all the same, I had to cover my tracks. Making sure that the room was warm, I carefully took the dirty basin and quietly slipped away. Looking at the sundial, I cringed as I realized that Odion would be home within the hour! Hurriedly, I escaped out from the back of our house and set the basin in the middle of the desert sand. I thanked the gods above that our house was so close to the edge of the city, as the desert was only a ten minute walk from my home (though I was also nimble on my feet). I then overturned the basin a bit, letting the disgusting stench of sickness and blood stain the ground. After it was three quarters of the way empty, I began to go back home, dropping a few splashes of the vile fluid along my way to cover my tracks. I emptied the basin accordingly so that I had none of the residue left when I reached home.

Odion's shadow stretched from the distance.

I immediately hid behind the house and entered through the back door. I stuck the basin inside my room and quickly changed my clothes, making sure that I was spotless. The boy remained on the bed breathing quietly. I felt my head reel. How the hell was I supposed to hide a freaking _person_ in front of my brother? I hoped that he wouldn't check the liquor cabinet. In a show of obsessive attention, I refilled the empty bottle with berry juice and stowed it where I'd found it. Locking the cupboard door, I started sweeping just as Odion walked in tiredly.

"Hello Marik," he said, sleep pervading his voice. "I brought some extra things for you, as Ishizu's not here to take your sweets." I grinned at him wondering how easy it was to smile in such circumstances.

"Hi, Odion! Thank you so much!" I chirped. "You look really tired. Why don't you go to sleep?" Odion nodded.

Then he sniffed.

"Ah! Marik, what is that horrible smell?" he groaned, his eyes snapping open. I felt every hair on the back of my neck stand as a cold sweat broke out over my forehead. How would this work?

"I…attempted to cook some chicken," I said, trying to make my voice thick with guilt. "It was disease-ridden. Possibly from that albino I saw today." Odion's eyes widened and he whirled to stare at me.

"An albino?" he said quietly. "Marik, where did you see him?"

"He was at our door," I replied. "I opened it and he fell in. I think he was going to ask us if he could have some chicken, but I slammed the door before he could. He was bloody and ugly. I think he left after a couple of minu-"

Odion rushed toward the door and saw the blood. He then took note of the trail that led from our house to the desert.

"You did a good job, Marik," he said resolutely. I gulped, guilt taking its due. "But what did you do with the chicken? Did you cook it?"

"Yes, but I did it in the basin!" I said, thinking fast. "I thought that it would be easier to clean, and I didn't want to taint our pots and pans…" Odion sighed.

"Marik, you should've thrown it away immediately! Where is this basin? Where is the chicken?"

"I threw away the chicken into the sewage," I replied. "That's where the bodies of the wrongdoers go, right?" It was true. Albinos weren't the only ones that were disposed of into the sewage system. Any citizen who wasn't in favor of the law or just in disaccord with other citizens was subject to murder and death in the sewage system. My body could be sent alongside the boy in my room for disobeying the commands of my leader…

"Good," Odion said with relief. "I will clean the basin tomorrow. For now, let us both go to bed."

"I'll clean the basin, Odion," I replied. "I took a long nap today. I can stay up for a bit longer." He was obviously not in the right mind to argue. I accepted his nod and went to my room, scrubbing and cleaning the basin. I threw the rest of the disgusting remnants into the sewer, the only place where everyone could hide their secrets so that they could flow away. I looked to the boy once more. Even though he was smaller than I was, a closer look showed that he was more my age than that of a mere boy.

That night, I watched over him as his chest rose and fell, rose and fell…

* * *

><p>I woke up by choking on my own drool. Giving a sickening gag, I realized that I'd slept next to the boy's…man's…<em>person's<em> vomit. With a quiet cry of frustration I began to clean again and didn't cease until every speck of the area was glimmering.

"Urgah," came a gargling sound from behind me. I let out a very loud, very embarrassing scream and turned with my scrubbing brush at ready.

The person was awake, and he was staring at me. I clutched my chest and sighed.

"You scared the very soul out of me," I accused, but to my surprise, his eyes seemed to accuse me straight back. I frowned. "Hey, don't give me that look! And be quiet, my brother's asleep in the room across from mine and if you're too loud, he'll come and question me." The person sniffled. "Oh…" I realized. He was hurt…sore from yesterday. In my attention to my own situation, I'd forgotten about his. "Hey, you'll be alright," I soothed. "I know, I know…" His muscles clenched and unclenched, but my strong bonds held. I felt my heart sink. He was in such pain and I couldn't remedy it…

"Marik?" Odion's voice called sleepily from outside my door. "I heard a scream…" The doorknob began to turn and I stood before it.

"Don't worry, Odion," I said lightly, obscuring his view of my bed. "I just saw a lizard and it surprised me." He gave me an odd look.

"You aren't afraid of reptiles," he said suspiciously. I gave a sheepish laugh.

"I actually was singing…and I thought that you were behind me," I replied embarrassedly. To my utter relief, Odion began laughing.

"Ah, if only Ishizu was here to hear this!" he chortled. "Our baby brother, aspiring to become a performer!" I had to admit that the idea was farfetched, but I glared at him all the same.

"Hey, Ishizu's not here! So be a good older brother and make me some sweets!" I ordered, pushing him out of the room and into the kitchen. "I'm extra hungry today, and I'm going to be expecting a large helping!" I'd almost said "two servings," but then I realized that I'd be a bit too specific…

All the same, Odion smiled.

"Well you're a growing boy all the same, so I'll oblige," he said with a smirk. "Even though you did interrupt my sleep." I shrugged guiltily but didn't pay him any mind, walking back to my room and shutting the door quickly. The boy on my bed flinched a bit at my bewildered expression, but I smiled at him and he seemed to loosen a little.

"Look, we don't have that much time together, but my name is Marik," I said calmly. "I want to help you get better. Don't ask why. I don't know myself. In fact, just assume that I'm out of my mind and that you're just abusing my hospitality." He nodded. I smiled. "What's your name?"

"Warugh," he said with much effort, his face scrunched in pain. I shook my head.

"Okay, that was stupid of me. I'm sorry," I said, smoothing his hair back. It was incredibly fluffy and soft. "You don't have to tell me-"

"Wa_rugh_," he said angrily. I knew that he wasn't going to stop, so I stuck out my hand.

"Okay, okay, spell it!" I said hurriedly. He looked at me questioningly. I realized that he wasn't literate. "Alright, but you shouldn't tell me until you're fully healed. Right now, all I'm hearing is 'Warugh.'" The man shook his head forcefully and started to cry again. I quickly hushed him. "Hey, it's okay, it's okay…" He was quiet, but his tears kept coming. I held him until he stopped crying, but he was still sniffling a bit when Odion called me.

"Your sweets are ready!" he said with a joking lilt. I clenched my teeth at the rather awful timing, but stood up. The man's eyes followed me in a silent plea, and I smiled at him encouragingly.

"Don't worry, I'll be back," I assured. "And with food." He nodded silently, his eyes watching me as I left. I dashed into the room where Odion was assembling the sweet powder into lumps of crumbling cookies.

"It's not as good as Ishizu does it," he confessed. "But I still believe it's…edible."

"Reassuring," I joked, but then kissed his cheek in thanks. "I'll eat this in my room. Hopefully, the smell takes away from the stench of the basin." He smiled at me and nodded. Odion and I liked to keep to ourselves when Ishizu was gone, as she always insisted on "family quality time" and we never had our thoughts to ourselves for long durations. With her gone, we immediately created a welcome distance.

"Hello," I said quietly, carrying the platter of cookies with one hand and closing the door with the other. The man looked at the cookies ravenously and I cursed as I forgot the water pitcher. I left and returned to see him comically reaching from the bed to the cookie. I frowned as I noticed that his stitches were stretching and I growled at him.

"Keep your hands to yourself, I'll get your food for you," I warned. "Your stitches will rip!" He immediately pulled back, staring at me with wonder. "Yeah, I stitched you up after you fell unconscious. Don't worry, I covered our tracks. We have to rinse our mouths before we can eat, so drink this."

* * *

><p>His scars and bruises hurt again, and I held him closely. His body was boiling. I covered him with blankets despite his protests and wiped his tears as his fever took its toll. I didn't know if he could make it…but my heart was cracking at the thought of him dying.<p>

Four days had passed like this, but Odion wasn't suspicious in the least. He usually left for his morning walk after breakfast and wasn't back until lunch, an activity that he didn't usually indulge if Ishizu was here. I forced a happy façade, but my heart was wrenching. My patient was vomiting and boiling and panicking, and I knew that I had to be at his side for the entire duration. So when Odion mentioned that his friends offered him a full week's trip to a nearby oasis, I urged him to go.

"You don't have enough experience to stay by yourself," he said resolutely, worry gleaming in his eyes. I gave him an unimpressed stare.

"I'm sixteen, Odion. If I don't have enough experience now, then I never will!" I replied. "I can do this." We stared at each other. "Odion…" I sighed. "You know that Ishizu treats me like a baby. If you weren't here to keep her from swaddling me, I wouldn't be able to walk within a foot of this house and have any friends because of her overprotective nature."

"I know Marik, but this is different," he said seriously. "Do you even know how to make your own meals?" I flushed.

"Yes!" I protested, even though both he and I knew that my cooking had no quality. "I can sustain myself!" That much was true. My cooking was still edible. Like Odion's cookies.

"Marik," he sighed again.

"Odion, come on!" I pleaded. "You know that I won't ever get to be alone if Ishizu comes back. And what will I do when I get married and have to support my own family? I can't just have you keep me here and stow my entire family in my room!" Odion's expression faltered a bit, so I continued. "You and I both know that Ishizu wants just that, and she won't ever find a husband if she continues to baby me to such an extent!"

That hit a pressure point in our family. One of the reasons we were looked down upon was because Ishizu wasn't married off, and neither was Odion. Odion believed that it was too late for him to marry, but Ishizu was a key pillar in our introduction to society, and the fact that she wasn't married was a clear sore spot in the face of our reputation.

"I…I don't see how this has anything to do with you staying at home," Odion replied. "It's a far stretch."

"That's what we say now," I warned. "But this will happen again and again. She won't ever let me alone. I have to prove to her that I can survive."

With those words, the argument was over. Odion made feeble attempts to regain control, but my resolute demeanor shot him down. I knew that if I wanted to save my friend, I had to fight my hardest. I kept my resolve and just…_fought_. Odion knew I wouldn't relent, and I was astounded at my own strength when I found that he was already packing his things.

The man had been writhing as I'd been speaking with passion. I once again calmed him down, preventing him from lashing out and hurting himself or shocking himself into a coma once more. I felt my own eyes start to water. Regardless of what I'd said, Odion was right. It was scary, the thought of being by myself. I already missed him.

"Odion?" I said, my voice watery. He immediately engulfed me in a hug.

"That's it," he growled. "I'm not leaving."

"Don't be stupid," I cried. "You already confirmed. I have to do this. We already know why. I can't be scared forever." He nodded, hearing the determination in my voice. I hugged him harder. "I'll really miss you, though." Odion hugged me back, wiping my tears and whispering that I would be alright. I thought of the man in my room and the fact that I should be saying these things to him, then thought of how Odion was such a great example and how much easier it would be if he just handled things with the albino.

All the same, I knew that he couldn't. With a sigh, I forced myself to let him go and let him leave. I waved for a long time, watching his form fade into the distance and seeing it blur with the tears in my eyes. I wandered back into my room where the man was breathing heavily. Ignoring the fact that I was crying, I cradled him and sang a lullaby that Ishizu and Odion sang for me when I was little. I knew that he'd be back. I knew that everything would return to normal. But I still felt lost and lonely, caring for someone who saw me as their last chance…

* * *

><p>I learned the man's name the same day his fever broke: three days after Odion's departure. I'd been forcing him to drink his water when his eyes suddenly snapped open and he glared at me.<p>

"Done," he gurgled, some of the water spilling from the side of his mouth. I flinched a bit in surprise, but set the cup down. Raising the rag, I went to wipe his face when his mouth opened again.

"Ryou," he spat. I furrowed my brows.

"What is that? Are you hungry?" I asked.

"Name…Ryou," he snapped, pain evident in his voice. Once I realized what he meant, I grinned widely.

"Hi Ryou," I said shyly. He nodded curtly, then fell asleep once more. I marveled at his strength a bit more before holding him again. His wounds had been healing nicely, and he could move a bit more freely. The worst of his fever had passed at that point, but in a few hours he was sleeping. No sobbing, no boiling, just…sleeping.

And everything was fine.

* * *

><p>Ryou stood up for the first time the very next day. He smiled at me when I wandered in and promptly fell against the wall in shock at the fact that he was <em>standing<em>. I'd been sleeping in Odion's room the entire time he'd been gone and I hadn't woken early enough to beat Ryou, but to see him stand and walk with his beautiful smile and his infectious energy…it made my heart fill with flutters.

"Morning," he said happily. I felt my face heat for no reason as I gawked awkwardly.

"Good morning…Ryou," I said. "I can't…I'm so…this is amazing!" He beamed at me and I laughed as I hugged him gently. "Can you walk around the room for me?" I asked eagerly. He nodded softly and slowly, but determinedly, walked the span of the room, then around it. I clapped as he ventured near me again, and hugged him once he finished his trek. "You're so strong, Ryou," I murmured against his ear as he buried his face in my shoulder. "I'm lucky that I had such a good patient like you."

"Thanks," he replied curtly, hugging me tighter. "Not without you." I felt a warmth dig into my heart and my belly. What was this? This was much more than just pride and satisfaction…but I didn't know what it could be.

I looked to the ground awkwardly as he stood there. What now? Would he leave? Would I just keep to my life as if he hadn't arrived at my doorstep? Should I report him?

The latter choice was a stupid one, and even I knew that. It wasn't fair to heal him and then send him off to the desert, but…I didn't know what to do. Ryou looked at me with a bit of fear in his eyes.

"Send me home?" he asked. I shrugged.

"You can go wherever you want," I replied, a bit unsure. "I…I still think you need to heal a little more, but afterwards, yeah…you can go home." He shook his head.

"I stay with Marik," he croaked, then walked to me and hugged me. Why was the world bursting into light? How was I suddenly filled with helium and flying up in the air? All the same, I managed to remain a bit grounded.

"You can't stay," I said sadly. "As much as I want you to stay…my siblings wouldn't be so welcoming." Ryou looked at me with surprise.

"You…don't want me to stay?" he asked seriously, a bit of despair in his voice. I shook my head immediately.

"I _can't_," I emphasized. "My siblings aren't as open as I am, and if they come back to see that I've been housing you, they'll…they'll disown me, and I don't even want to think of what they'll do to you. My sister is a High Priestess. She has good standing with the leader of this village. If he hears about this, he'll hurt you…badly."

Ryou's face fell. He understood, but I brightened a bit as I figured out a solution.

"You can escape, though," I said. "The world's a big place. I can ask my siblings if I could go on a journey, and we could meet an oasis or a town that is able to house you and your kind." Ryou smiled at me widely.

"And you…can come too!" he cheered. I looked at him blankly.

"Maybe," I confessed. "I don't know if I could leave Odion and Ishizu that easily or that permanently." Ryou frowned, but then his stomach grumbled and I laughed. "Well, at any rate, we need to start eating! Let's chow down!" I took him by the hand and led him to the kitchen. Ryou marveled at our house, having only seen it in its entirety when he was almost dead. I showed him Odion's room as we exited, then Ishizu's room down the hallway. "Those are obviously no-safe zones, so we have to steer clear of them once my siblings return." I then showed him the restrooms, where we emptied our chamber pots. Ryou flushed when he realized that I had assisted him with this, but I told him not to think much of it. After the initial discomfort with taking care of a person, I had gotten over my insecurities and fell to the job.

When we arrived at the kitchen, Ryou inhaled deeply and his stomach rumbled once more.

"Sweetmeats," he sighed happily, and I felt myself grow happy as well. Those were something that I knew how to make, no matter what.

The smell rose through the chimney and permeated throughout the house. Ryou sat and watched me cook and add numerous toppings such as cinnamon and powdered sugar to the pastries. When I tested one, it had just the right tart taste that drove my siblings wild. There was a reason that I was the designated sweets chef!

Ryou put a square of my masterpiece in his mouth and his eyes widened in surprise before he began to shovel the food through his teeth. I laughed as he eagerly ate as if he hadn't in many years, though watching his stitches carefully to make sure he didn't strain them. They were about ready to come off, so I would have to assemble the right tools once more.

On a whim, I reached out and touched Ryou's hair. He froze, then looked up at me as I reached both hands and began to shape it.

"Ryou, I don't know how you do it, but your hair is so voluminous!" I laughed, stacking it on top of his head. "It slips right through my fingers, but there's so much of it!" He remained frozen, and slowly, I took my hands away in apprehension. "What's wrong?"

"He…pulled my hair when he took me," Ryou said in one breath, as if the sentence physically pained him and he needed to get it out. I raised an eyebrow and thought of that sentence a bit.

"Took you where? And who is 'he?'" I asked. Ryou looked down at his meal.

"Marik…the one who _took_ me. You know…" he said quietly, looking at me imploringly. I felt my heart freeze as I realized what he meant.

"Oh…I'm…I mean…" I stuttered, unsure of what to say. "I'm sorry, Ryou. I didn't know." He smiled, but he and I knew that it was fake.

"It's alright. I know," he replied. I walked over to him and took one of my pastries. Scooting close to him, but not too close, I offered it to him.

"Here. The center ones are always the best," I said kindly. "Do you want to talk about it?" He shook his head, and I nodded, taking back the pastry. "Alright. Then we'll go onto another topic. The outer edges of the pastries don't crumble so easily, but the center still the best, got it?" Ryou chuckled. "It has the most flavor, especially the lemon tarts." I chewed on my tart carelessly, hoping that he wouldn't hate me for prying. Ryou smiled and sensed my discomfort, but didn't say a word. Instead, he plucked a center tart as well and started to chew it, smiling at the truth of my words.

We spent the rest of the evening chewing. I decided that, after that rejection, I wouldn't ask Ryou about anything else. His life was his, and my life was mine. I just had to respect that.

* * *

><p>It was the day Odion came back, and I couldn't help but chatter away as Ryou followed me around the house, listening to me as I emphasized Odion's care and kindness.<p>

"Every scrape and every bruise I had was immediately Odion's responsibility," I remarked. "It's not because he was the oldest when my dad passed away, but because he was always looking after me and Ishizu. That's the real reason he couldn't find a wife, but to everyone else he says it's because his face was scarred and no woman deserves someone as ugly as him." Ryou frowned just as I did. "I know. I always got upset when he said that as well. It doesn't help that there's a girl out there who keeps looking to marry him. Her family is wealthy, but they've seen how hard Odion works and they approve. He doesn't though. He thinks that she's too good for him and that she should marry someone of higher standing."

"How about Ishizu?" Ryou asked. I smiled fondly.

"She's really, really smart. She can even predict things before they happen, which really helps us in terms of our crops. Ishizu doesn't like to admit that she cares too much, but she just doesn't get the fact that we care about her as well. When she was meeting with the leader of the village, Odion and I couldn't sleep at all because she was traveling alone, and being a girl it was especially dangerous. I just wish that she believed us. It's always that Ishizu is the overprotective one, Ishizu's the one who would sacrifice herself for her family, Ishizu's career is borne solely to provide for us. Ishizu believes it, too. As if she doesn't know that I would die for her as well." I sighed exasperatedly, realizing how angry I sounded. "It's as if she thinks that we don't love her as we should, and she accepts it. She always says how Odion and I are closer than she is to us; some sort of 'male bond.' But I think that Odion and I are more distant toward each other than we are to Ishizu, because she's in the middle. She understands both of us. Odion is devoted to me because I'm the baby of the family, but he can easily read Ishizu's mind just as I can."

"Stop," Ryou said. I stopped talking and looked at him. "I'm going to the room." I watched as he stalked away, confused. I then realized that I'd talked too much. Here I was, chatting away about my family, when Ryou didn't even have any. If I'd felt heartless before, this couldn't compare. I slowly put my broom down and headed off to our room.

"Ryou," I said quietly. He was lying on the bed, facing away from the door. "Come on, Ryou, I'm sorry. I didn't think about talking about my family…I just did."

"You have no reason to be sorry," he growled. I flinched, not expecting him to speak so soon. "You didn't do anything wrong. In fact, _I'm_ the one causing problems." Ryou hadn't spoken this much before. I was, frankly, getting to be a bit afraid.

"You're not a burden, Ryou," I began, but he shook his head.

"I _am_ a burden, Marik. But that's not the main problem here," he said. "Sooner or later, I'm going to have to leave." I nodded, looking down. I knew as much as he did that it was inevitable. Ryou would have to leave to another oasis or town before Ishizu or Odion came back. "Your sister will return in two weeks, and we both know that I cannot hide from her, especially with what you've told me. But…what's bothering me is that you…you…" He waved his hands in the air and I looked at him with some confusion.

"I…?" I asked.

"You love them," he sighed. "And I love you." I felt my face heat, as well as the rest of my body. I shook my head.

"You're wrong," I said calmly. "You can't love me. You've only known me for a short time, and for the majority of that time you were unconscious!" Ryou turned towards me and got off of the bed. I took a step back and found myself backing into the door as Ryou swiftly approached and caught my chin between his two fingers.

"I love you. I don't care if it's been two seconds or two decades," he whispered. "But I do. And I don't know if you do, but if you do, then don't fight it. We could work something out, but I don't want to lose you." I shook my head and dislodged my chin from his grip.

"I can't love you yet," I gasped, the shock of this change of events overwhelming me. "I've only known you for a brief time! Ryou, I don't know where you come from, who your family is, why I found you bruised and beaten…" Ryou stared at me with a broken heart in his eyes. "Dammit Ryou! I…I just don't know." He nodded sullenly, and suddenly I would've given anything in my power to make him feel better. "If I were to love you," I began, making him tilt his head up. "I'd have to get to know you for more than just two weeks. More than just a month. I would have to know you for years. I don't want to rush anything."

"We don't have that time," Ryou snapped.

"Exactly!" I replied, clasping his hands. "So you can't! You can't love me, not when we're like this. Not when our lives aren't in accord with each other."

"You're afraid," Ryou said angrily.

"Damn right I'm afraid!" I snapped. "I'm afraid of leaving my siblings, of leaving my _home_, to follow someone I barely know! I'm afraid that I might just get hurt, that I might trust someone so wholly and abruptly that my love will just come crashing down!" I hadn't known I was crying until a sob interrupted my rant. "I'm afraid that I might love you already, and if you betray me, I'll end up broken again! I loved my father, and he ripped me apart! If I love you…then what will you do to me?"

"This," he said suddenly, and he cupped my face in his hands and brought my lips to his. I pulled away and he remained staring at me. "I want you more than you could possibly know, Marik."

"And I want you to wait," I hissed. He nuzzled me.

"Then I'll wait," he said resolutely. "I don't mind staying in your room for four years." I wiped my tears angrily, knowing that this wouldn't work, that this hurdle was one that I probably couldn't climb. Ryou was a part of me now. He wasn't someone I could simply forget. Despite the fact that he was a lower life form in the eyes of my peers, somehow through my days of hospitality I'd come to see him as beautiful, as an equal.

I couldn't bear to see him leave, but there was no possible way he could stay. How could all of this happen in just fourteen days?

* * *

><p>When Odion arrived back home, I greeted him with unimaginable enthusiasm. It'd been hard living on my own (well, with Ryou) as I'd had to cook for the two of us and it was a bit of a difficult situation, especially since I didn't know how to cook anything but sweets. Odion took one look at the vegetables I'd left to rot and sighed.<p>

"I'm surprised you aren't a rolling ball of dough right now," he chuckled. "I predicted that you wouldn't eat the vegetables, but I also expected you to be soft around the middle." I frowned and patted my stomach self-consciously, causing him to erupt in loud laughter. I kissed his cheek right before we went to bed.

"I missed you, Odion," I murmured as I hugged him. He smiled and stroked my back.

"I missed you too, little brother," he replied. "Now go to bed. You can't use the whole 'nap' excuse again." I smiled and nodded, heading to my room. I looked through the gap in my door.

"Goodnight, Odion," I called. Hearing his reply, I closed the door only to have Ryou pin me to it. "Ryou, wha-" I asked before he started viciously kissing me.

"I missed you," he moaned as we gasped for air. He kissed the corner of my mouth before burying his face into my neck.

"Hey, look, my brother's going to be here from now on," I said as we held each other tightly. "I'm not going to have enough time to spend with you." He growled at that.

"All the more reason to run away," he said sullenly. I was about to protest when he held up a hand. "I know, I know, you can't leave your family. It still doesn't keep me from asking in hopes of a positive answer." I shut my mouth, staring at the fluffy white hair. My sadness had returned. I didn't want him to feel sad because of me, but I didn't want to leave.

"…Let's get your stitches off," I sighed once we'd calmed down a bit. Ryou frowned but walked over to the bed, refusing to look at me. I returned the favor and merely did my job, binding the wounds after my haphazard stitches fell away. The scars hadn't been as deep as I'd recalled, but the ointment I'd put on them to heal them faster had done its job. I quickly bandaged them, then laid Ryou down. He stared at me with a bit of a grudge in his eyes before snatching my arm and pulling me beside him.

"Ryou-"

"Just for tonight," he hushed. I didn't say anything but allowed him to wrap his arms around me and press me to his chest. I slumped and relented. I was too tired to say otherwise.

* * *

><p>"Just for tonight" turned into every night. Whether I slept on the floor or on the bed, Ryou was beside me in the morning. The only morning he wasn't beside me was when Odion woke me up.<p>

"Mmmn, Ryou?" I said sleepily.

"Marik?" Odion said. My heart felt a twinge of terror and I immediately corrected myself.

"I mean, who're you?" I mumbled, opening my eyes. "Oh, Odion." He grinned at me excitedly.

"Are you ready? Ishizu's coming home today!" he cheered, lifting me and hauling me to my feet. "We have to get the house ready!" My eyes widened and, on instinct, I looked around my room.

Ryou was nowhere to be seen.

Odion dragged me upwards and to the living area, where I started mechanically cleaning and dusting while fretting about Ryou's whereabouts.

"Odion…did you see anything odd while you were coming to wake me up?" I asked hesitantly, looking at him with a bit of terror. Odion shrugged, his face turned away from me.

"Actually," he said, making me freeze. "I noticed that it was the first time I'd been in your room for a while! I never really go in there, do I?" he remarked. I nearly fainted of relief, but continued to scrub to keep up my façade of calm. Where was Ryou?

What if…someone else found him?

Immediately, my terror multiplied. I felt short of breath as I thought about how I couldn't save him if he was hurt because I would've been an accomplice. Not only that, but Odion would be hurt as well. Most importantly…Ryou would be facing a great deal of charges. He would certainly die, but I didn't know how.

As gruesome images flitted through my mind, I clenched my towel tighter and tighter. What if they slowly barbecued him over a bonfire? What if they pierced him with a million swords? What if they tore off his limbs?

All of these images made me a bit sicker, and all of a sudden I abandoned my rag and rushed to my room to give it a once over, to make sure the kidnapper left prints or evidence of theft.

"Good morning, Marik."

I threw my arms around him, gasping in relief. He hugged me back and laughed at my overreaction.

"I'd no idea that you missed me so much," he said.

"I thought you were taken!" I cried. "Where were you?" Ryou smiled and removed the bedspread to show that the blanket had been hiding a secret tunnel.

"I knew that the day would come when your sister would arrive, so I took extra precautions," he explained. "This tunnel leads straight towards a nearby lake. I think it belongs to the Mutou's." My expression must have been shock, because Ryou put his hands in the air and gave a guilty expression. "They don't know that I'm here. I just need to keep a low profile every time I go."

"You're in the house of the enemy!" I hissed. "If even one of them sees you, you'll die!" Ryou only smiled.

"I'll be perfectly all right. And so will you," he soothed, pecking me lightly. "Now go. Your brother is undoubtedly curious as to why you abandoned your cleaning duties." I frowned at him, but I knew that I did have to go and clean. I turned to leave, but turned straight back and gave him a resounding kiss on the mouth.

"Whatever you do, don't get in trouble, okay?" I whispered. "I'll worry about you every day." He frowned at that.

"You don't expect me to stay cooped up in here, do you?" he asked doubtfully. I would've liked to say that that was exactly what I expected, but I knew that he would've thrown a fit.

"No," I whispered. "Just stay safe." With a fierce blush, I pulled away and walked out the door, returning to the monotony of cleaning the counters.

* * *

><p>"I was really surprised that our village was the only one that banned albinos," Ishizu snorted with disgust. "The others had theirs roaming around in the streets! Granted, there is one for every 100,000 people, but I still believe that we should be a bit less…disciplined." I remained quiet as Odion agreed and expressed his own shock. My view on albinos had already changed with Ryou. I didn't know what to say.<p>

"Marik, could you get some of the wine from the cabinet?" Odion asked. I nodded slowly and made my way to the cabinet. Behind me, I could hear them whisper.

"Has anything happened while I was gone? He's awfully silent."

"He's been this way for a while now. I don't think that my absence had anything to do with it."

"How long ago would you say it started?"

"I would give it a month."

I shivered as I realized that they'd pinpointed exactly when I'd met Ryou. I turned with a fake smile on my face as I handed the bottle to Ishizu.

"Hey guys, what are you talking about?" I asked sweetly, depleting all of my "cute little brother charm."

"Nothing, you goober," Ishizu laughed, shoving me playfully. "How about you tell us how you've been doing? Odion tells me that you were left here for a week." She gave a glare at Odion that spoke volumes, but Odion only nodded at me.

"Go on, tell her how it went," he said, smiling.

So I proceeded to tell them how I'd loved living on my own. I emphasized how cooking came simply to me, as I'd cooked things other than sweets, and how cleaning the house was all that I had left to do since there was no one else. In all, I concluded, I'd had a rather simple time. Nothing had happened, and I didn't mind doing it again.

Ishizu and Odion seemed impressed. Ishizu smiled at me.

"Well then, shall we make a toast to celebrate?" she chuckled, opening the cork of the wine bottle. It was then that I remembered that it was the very wine bottle that I'd replaced with berry juice!

"Um…could I choose the bottle?" I stuttered. Ishizu raised an eyebrow.

"You already have, silly!" she said. "You're the one who brought this bottle." I cringed and tried to think of another excuse.

"Well I hadn't known the connotations!" I defended. "Now that I know, there's a certain bottle that I want to open!" But I'd slipped. My eyes had been darting left to right and my stance had been open and vulnerable. Ishizu and Odion immediately narrowed their eyes.

"What's going on, Marik?" Odion asked in a low voice. I bit my lip and shrugged.

"I just don't like the thought of using one of our wine bottles for something other than medicine," I replied, but my high-pitched voice made it sound like a question rather than a statement. Ishizu gasped.

"This is berry juice!" she cried. "Marik, what did you DO?" I flinched under her accusing glare.

"I accidentally spilled the bottle!" I protested. Odion's voice grew loud and booming.

"Is that so?" he roared. "You just so happened to tilt the bottle and spill every drop without breaking the container?" I shivered. I knew that I was in major trouble, but I couldn't just let them take Ryou! There was only one thing I could do, even if it meant sacrificing my independence.

"I'm…I'm sorry," I whispered. "I was just so curious, and I couldn't help myself but to indulge."

"No one was around," Ishizu gasped. "Oh, I KNEW that we shouldn't have left him alone!" Odion just gave me a look of grave disappointment. I let my knees fall to the ground so that I could curl up into a ball. Ishizu's anger went into overdrive and suddenly she was screaming at me, saying that I could've gotten hurt and Odion would've returned to a corpse. Odion just stood still, and his silence was the worst. I'd betrayed his trust, and he just stared at me, then shook his head and turned away.

In the end, I was frozen. I went to my room and curled up on my bed. Ryou was out, and in my worry, I decided that it was my fault.

Everything was my fault. I could've kept Ryou from falling for me so that he could leave without me. I could've been a bit more careful about the wine and Ishizu wouldn't have had to yell at me. I could've told Odion the truth and trusted him, and I wouldn't have hurt him so badly.

I felt frantic with worry, sadness, and guilt. I didn't sleep at all, but I pretended to sleep when Ryou returned and kissed me softly on the cheek. He didn't notice, but I knew that deep inside, I had to do something. I had to somehow make Ishizu and Odion understand that albinos weren't bad…

I snuggled closer to Ryou, thankful that he was asleep so that I could freely cry.

* * *

><p>In the morning, I came face-to-face with Ryou.<p>

"You were crying," he said sternly. "What happened?"

"I was stupid," I sighed. "I was just being moody."

"I can tell you're lying," he said, narrowing his eyes.

"So can everyone else," I mumbled. "My siblings figured out that I used the alcohol. I told them that I drank it." Ryou stared at me for a full minute. He then sighed.

"Alright," he said. I felt grateful that he didn't push it and instead resumed holding me. I felt the pain pulse within me, but I still knew that I had to somehow right my wrong.

When I got up and began my daily cleaning, I saw Odion on the table. He didn't speak to me or look up to acknowledge my existence, and I felt physical daggers claw at my chest. I gulped.

"H-Hello," I whispered. I knew he wouldn't answer, but I felt tears prick my eyes when I didn't hear his voice anyway. Making my breakfast alongside Ryou's, I silently took it to my room and ignored the fact that Odion had snapped the newspaper too loudly in silent anger. I bit my lip, drained from crying but incredibly guilty all the same.

"Marik," Ryou murmured, motioning for me to sit beside him on the bed. "I hate to see you so sad." I smiled brokenly.

"I have to be," I whispered. "I have to keep you safe, don't I?" Ryou smiled helplessly. He kissed me as we ate, whispering how much he loved me and how much he was grateful. I leaned into him, trying to remain impassive and failing. Eventually, Ryou rocked me to sleep again. I didn't fight it.

* * *

><p>I woke up to the sound of a moving carriage before realizing that I was in it. I gasped and looked around. Ishizu was staring at me angrily as Odion drove the horses.<p>

"Where are we?" I asked hesitantly.

"We are going to the High Temple. Where I just was," she said flatly. "We believe that leaving you alone allowed you to make some bad judgments, and so we're going to correct this error." I sat back down, not knowing what to say. Ryou would be safe at home, but here I was, about to go through some torture.

"They're going to put me into the Dungeon, aren't they?" I asked softly. She nodded coldly.

"You will remain there until you have learned the errors of your ways and have redeemed yourself," she said resolutely. "We will be visiting the high council to fully credit your imprisonment." My mind was whirling in shock. Always, Ishizu and Odion had warned me against wrongdoing because they didn't want me to end up in imprisonment, the very place I was headed. My crime was a serious offense that couldn't be dealt with by the village leaders: the Mutous. They had to get the high council involved; the council that governed our entire country. Every village that Ishizu visited was under this council. My shame deepened.

I understood why the council needed to be involved, however, as wine is a commodity that is rare and often revered. The fact that I drank more than just a sip, but an entire bottle, was a sin that could never be washed away with mere reprimands.

But I supposed that I could handle lying on the cold wood planks for a long period of time over the death of Ryou. Even though he was an albino, he was mine, and I would rather wait than have him die.

The rest of the carriage ride was uneventful. Ishizu and Odion refused to talk to me for fear of becoming tainted, and I understood. Despite my intentions, wasting an entire bottle of wine shouldn't have been necessary, especially for drinking. In fact, the entire time I'd just been lazy and idle, keeping Ryou company and forcing him to love me because I was just always there.

I shook my head out of it. My insecurities were manifesting into a false truth, and it was dangerous.

I wondered if Ryou would be worried when he found that I wasn't there, then thought that it would've been for the best. He could finally move on, as I wouldn't return for a long while. Also, by the time I was back, the world might realize that albinos weren't all bad, that they were people as well. I fervently hoped for it, even though I would be going into imprisonment for knowing it before anyone else in my village. Biting my lip, I merely lay down and waited for things to come.

* * *

><p>The city was grand, and the council hall was the largest of all. I felt sufficiently intimidated as I walked up the marble stairs. My heart raced as I came before the half-circle desk that stretched the length of the central room. The people on the balconies above looked at me in disgust, knowing that I was the brother of their High Priestess looking to dishonor her. I bowed my head, feeling cowardly.<p>

"Welcome," a voice sounded from nowhere. All of a sudden, the five council members appeared. The first was a long-haired man who I assumed was Dartz, taking the head of the table with his bodyguards behind him. The second was Mai Valentine, a beautiful woman with a fierce determination and heart for justice. After her came, to my shock, an albino. Pegasus was what his nameplate said, and despite his skin tone, Ishizu regarded him as evenly as she did the others. The fourth one was immersed in shadows, and his nameplate read "Anubis."

The last member was late. I didn't mind, though. It gave me more time to glower at the albino. Hadn't albinos been looked down upon? It seemed odd to have one in such a prestigious position as a high councilmember.

He caught my gaze and gave a pitying smile. "Hello, little one. You're probably wondering why there is an albino here in a position of power." I kept staring at him, and luckily, he didn't seem offended in the least. "Well, your village is the only one who ostracizes our kind. In fact, another one of our members was gravely hurt by one of the radicals of your hometown." I felt my heart thump. Two albinos? In the high council? "Don't look so surprised!" Pegasus continued. "Luckily, people like your sister are fighting for our rights in the village."

I turned to Ishizu in shock, but she faced firmly forward. I opened my mouth to tell her the truth, to tell her that I'd been housing an albino and that I'd used the alcohol for its intended cause, but then the doors opened once more.

As the final councilmember entered, my heart stopped. I recognized the fluffy white hair, the wide blue eyes, and the large smile that had charmed me. He greeted everyone with great charisma, but his face became impassive when he regarded me. I felt my breath catch in my throat, and my siblings gave me curious glances. Ryou stared at me with no emotional inflection, and I finally understood.

It had all been my fault. I hadn't known anything. I had trusted Ryou when the test was to keep to my lawful city and dispose of him. Even if I'd kept him company, I was foolish enough to break the village law. I was foolish enough to believe that I was right in deceiving my family and my village. And I knew that I would do it over and over again.

I was to be penalized. I broke my gaze with Ryou and stared at the ground. There was no place for someone like me except for the Dungeon. I didn't care anymore. I wanted to go so that I couldn't break any more laws or hurt any more people.

The accusation was raised and I didn't bother to fight. I merely nodded to everything said. Yes, I drank the wine. Yes, I convinced Odion to leave me alone. Yes, I lied to my siblings, one of whom was a member of the council, to save my own hide. Whatever I may have said didn't matter. What they said was the truth.

By the end of it, Odion had tears streaming down his cheeks and Ishizu couldn't bear to look at me for fear of letting her face break into anguish. Dartz sighed as he raised his gavel.

"I'm sorry to say this, but I…approve of your notion. Your brother is a wielder of magic and manipulation. Despite of its unintentional purposes, your brother used it to convince your other brother to leave him so that he could drink the wine and indulge himself contrary to the council's demands." I looked down, shock and fear racing through me. That was it! I had the power of manipulation. My intentions were masked onto others.

That's why Ryou loved me, I realized with a sharp pang of shame. That's why I made Odion leave. I wanted to feel good about myself. I'd even convinced myself of the lies of "healing Ryou" and "saving albinos" when it was clear that I was only desperately seeking companionship and Ryou had been the perfect target.

The crowd roared their assent and their disapproval of me. I closed my eyes as I fell to my knees at their jeers. This was me. I was the only one who could commit such an error. My eyes snapped wide as I heard the next segment of the case.

"All in favor of the statement, say 'Agreed,'" Dartz said quietly.

"Agreed," Mai said quietly, looking at me with pity.

"Agreed," Anubis growled.

"Agreed," Pegasus said nonchalantly.

"Agreed," Ryou said coldly. A great chill of shock passed over me. I'd thought that Ryou would disagree. I felt wronged, hurt, and furious, but I let none of that show on my face. I should have never taken in that pale, blue-eyed traitor…

But Ishizu and Odion were staring at me with disappointment. If I told my truth, they'd only get more disappointed. They'd see it as a clear lie, no matter if I defended myself and offered a multitude of proof. To them I was a brother who disobeyed them, and as a result, fell under the influences of self-indulgence and cruelty.

And perhaps they were right. All these trusted officials were staring at me with harsh judgment in their eyes. I couldn't bear to look at Ryou, now free from my manipulative powers. I couldn't bear to see him recognize me as a monster who'd kept him prisoner and who'd shamefully hid him from my family when they would have known what to do.

Ishizu was already verging on fighting for albino rights. I could have talked to her about it. I could have saved Ryou instead of holding him hostage. I could've…

But I hadn't. And that was why I was here today. I stared pointedly at the ground and let the guards roughly bind my wrists, much to Odion and Ishizu's dismay.

"Don't feel upset for him," Ryou said darkly. "He's making you feel this way by manipulation. This power is the reason your village is wrought with racism. The Mutous, after all, are vile in upholding their view that albinos are soulless."

Little Yugi. I could see him smile at me and offer me medical tips. I couldn't let him get imprisoned by Ryou and the other council members!

"It was me!" I spat, the picture of insanity. I struggled against the guards. "My powers of manipulation reached them! It was tantalizing, seeing such a powerful family fall to my views!" Ishizu and Odion gasped and stared at me in shock. I maintained eye contact with the members of the council, all who looked appalled. Ryou was staring at me with surprise and confusion. There was a flash of uncertainty in his face as he regarded me. He was going to love me again, to convince himself that he loved me because I was unconsciously forcing him to do so. I had to seal the final nail onto the coffin.

With a crazed smile that I couldn't help making, I added my final testament. "I can't seem to control my power, but if I am not detained, I shall create a twisted world. I shall make it so albinos are hated and that medicinal wine can be wasted. I understand that this is wrong, but it is out of my control."

"Stop it, Marik!" Odion shouted. Ishizu had tears streaming down her face.

"I'm manipulating you!" I cried back. Turning to the council members with my hands still bound, I fell to my knees.

"Please," I begged. "I accept my permanent detainment."

* * *

><p>The Dungeon was well-kept. Though I was thrown onto its hard floor, it was not dusty or dirty in the least. The bed was comfortable. There were no windows but I loved the décor. The dresser and mirror were made of the same wood, and the portraits of council members past flattered them greatly. I lay on the bed, easily occupying my mind with the thoughts of how the people in the pictures lived their lives.<p>

I hated myself. It was unfair of me to have manipulated people to my will. I looked into the mirror and saw a shivering, crying figure, but that couldn't be me. I was supposed to look meaner, crueler, a mask of hatred. My hair wasn't supposed to be groomed, but tall, menacing. A cape was supposed to flow behind me, an image of power that I didn't deserve. I smirked and it looked fitting.

Maybe this is where I belonged. Somewhere where I could keep to myself and keep myself from dragging others down.

Periodically, a guard would come in and beat me. He would use whips, chains, and blunt objects to bruise me, then he would leave me at the hands of a shaman who evaluated my evil. Each time, my lack of speech would convince him of what he wanted to know.

I remained evil. I could not stop it, could not control it. If I opened my mouth, a plea for help would be on the tip of my tongue. The shaman would leave, and I would bow my head at my weakness and believe in my dastardly powers with much more fervor.

* * *

><p>"You really need to cut your hair," Pegasus-portrait said. I rolled my eyes.<p>

"_You_ really need to cut _yours_," I retorted. He flipped his hair, affronted, as Anubis-portrait let out a loud chuckle.

"Perhaps you aren't as bad as I'd thought," he giggled. "Your cruelty is certainly unmatched." I smirked as I glared up at the ceiling.

"Yes, but his sense of justice is severely lacking," Mai-portrait said in a quiet voice. I felt my smirk fall. She was the dream-crusher of the group.

"You have no idea who you're talking to," I snapped. "I'm the only one who bothers to keep you company."

"And a fat lot of good it did to the ones you love," she retorted, making me fall silent and glower at her picture. "You could still change, Marik." I shook my head.

"No matter what I do, I'm going to be a pawn to my desires. I'm going to make everyone else a pawn to my desires as well." She sighed.

"You're overreacting."

"I'm not."

"Let's relax," Dartz-portrait said suddenly. He stood authoritatively on the far wall, fixing his gaze sternly at me, then Mai-portrait. "Marik needs a little more time so that he can reflect on what he did wrong and harness his power."

"This power can't be harnessed!" I screeched. "The only cure is for me to die!" Dartz-portrat shook his head.

"There is no such thing as an ailment that can't be cured," he said dutifully. I breathed heavily.

"Mine can't," I growled. "I'm a freak who kills other people for my own enjoyment." Dartz-portrait moved to protest again when I spread my arms out.

"This is the world now. I've killed everyone else," I explained. "Nothing else matters anymore. Not life, not love, not happiness."

Ryou-portrait didn't say a word, but his glare of disapproval was enough. He didn't want to be trapped in my evil again. It'd taken a long time for me not to feel betrayed, but now, I understood.

A sharp rap at the door returned the portraits to their rightful places. I closed my eyes and feigned sleep as someone entered, no doubt with my food. I couldn't keep track of time here in the Dungeon, so I depended on the periodic delivery of food to keep from becoming bored. I couldn't smell the food, so I assumed it was another bowl of the tasteless oats.

"Marik?" a small voice whispered. My eyes snapped open and I turned to look at Ryou. Not Ryou-portrait, but _Ryou_.

"Why are you here?" I asked in surprise. "You should get away as soon as possible!" He neared me, and I clambered away from him in shock. "What are you doing? Get away!"

"Sh!" he said curtly. "The guards are all asleep. I'm going to take you away from here." I shook my head wildly. He was mirroring my desires once more! He was going to take me back and set me free so I could torment more people!

"Is the law letting me go?" I asked, hoping that my powers hadn't worked. I didn't believe that I was strong enough to influence the entire council's decision, just Ryou's. Ryou clenched his teeth.

"No. I'm…I'm sorry I betrayed you Marik. I had to…I had to make sure that the albinos weren't hurt once more," he said silently. "If I had let you go, your sister wouldn't have been upset enough to urge the Mutou family to halt their absurd law. Please understand, Marik! Your sister is fighting for albino rights in your village now because she knows that you're not crazy because of me. She knows that albinos aren't bad!" I shook my head.

"I'm not leaving. I want to stay here," I replied, lying down on my bed.

"Marik! What about our dream?" Ryou cried, rushing over. "What about staying together and loving each other?" I stared at him tiredly.

"What dream?" I voiced. "That was my dream. Not yours. Yours was to heal and leave, and then I manipulated you."

"Wh-what?" Ryou whimpered. I stared at him sadly.

"I know, the truth hurts," I whispered. "I'm so sorry Ryou. I really do love you. But you were manipulated. I can't give back your life, but you can just move on." Ryou was slack-jawed for a full minute, waiting for me to say it was a joke. But this was no laughing matter.

"Marik, you _idiot_!" he near-screamed. "Do you really think that people can have the power of manipulation? I love you! You love me! We can _leave_!" I looked at him, shocked, as he shook my shoulders. "Come on, Marik! I have the caravan outside with provisions, and no one knows! We have to leave now!"

I shook my head once more.

"You should leave. You should get away from me. I'm manipulating you to say the things you're saying right now," I whispered fearfully. "I don't deserve you, Ryou, so I'm trying to make you love me because I want to be with you. The thing is, I can't seem to stop. You need to leave!"

"If I'm under a spell, so be it," he said angrily. "I still want you, and I still want to escape with you. I still want the plan that I had when you were caring for me."

"I was only keeping you company!" I muttered indignantly. "What kind of care is _that_?" Ryou stared at me, shocked. He ignored the way I flinched away and and tilted my chin up so that I could look into his eyes.

"You healed me from near death," he whispered. "You wasted the alcohol to clean my wounds."

"No," I replied firmly. My powers had twisted the truth too much in his eyes. "I wasted the alcohol on my breath. I only cared for self-indulgence. I drank and I kept you company and I…I _used_ you." Ryou frowned and stepped back.

"Marik is gone, isn't he?" he said, angry tears choking his voice. "I _killed_ him." I shook my head.

"My fate was decided," I replied. "I should stay here and keep from indulging in my desires." Ryou began to cry, short heaving sobs.

"I should've stood up for you!" he sobbed. "I should've saved you! I should've told the truth!"

"The truth is right in front of your face," I cried back, jerking away from him. I couldn't keep watching his misery. "My so-called 'hospitality' and 'kindness' were all selfish ways I justified hurting you. You should leave as soon as possible."

His face was the picture of grief. It was only after he clapped a hand over his mouth and stumbled out of my cell that I'd realized that my face mirrored his. How could I have caused so much pain? Couldn't I have limited my indulgence? Had I needed to drink an entire bottle of medicinal alcohol?

I let myself stew in regret and shame. Ryou would find someone else, someone worthy of him. I would never learn. I clawed at the scars on my back. They were punishments. My father had known that I'd be a conniving son even before I had.

* * *

><p><strong>(AN):/ so. many. page breaks.**


	25. Yours

AN: You are the best thing, that's ever been MIIIINEEEE!

And thank you obsessed anon! You made my day :'D

Smut ahead. Come on guys. It had to happen sometime.

* * *

><p>Yours<p>

"So let me get this straight," Téa sighed, waving her cake fork lazily. "You've been married to the guy for a year, but you haven't had sex yet?" Marik stewed silently as he mixed his frozen yogurt so that the M&M's made a rainbow on the vanilla.

"For the fifth time, _no_," he said snidely, but who was she to interrogate him on these matters? So what if she'd been the only one who'd accepted him immediately when he returned from Egypt and apologized for using everyone? So what if she'd been the one who had held all his secrets, the one who trusted him with her own? There was a distinct line that even best friends weren't allowed to cross!

"Don't get snippy with me, mister!" Téa scoffed, tossing her head in a way that signified that she was miffed. "I'm not the one who hasn't lost their v-card yet." Marik glared at her.

"Who says that having sex with someone else is how a man loses his virginity?" he replied saucily. "We could masturbate and it'd be the same thing as having sex, just not inside something! I could probably get a blow up doll and lose my 'virginity' that way!" Téa glared back.

"That's just sexist," she snapped. "So what if our hymen technically signifies our virginity? Mine broke because of my dance career, but I was still a virgin! Besides…" she leaned in conspiratorially, "When you take it inside of you, it's pretty obvious whether you're a virgin or not."

Marik flushed a dark red as she laughed evilly. Why was he friends with her again?

"Look," he said sternly. "I'm not hungry anymore." Téa tried to wave him back, but when he tossed his yogurt into the trash and walked home in a huff, she immediately stopped laughing and dashed over to him.

"Hey…hey!" she huffed, grabbing his hand. "Marik, listen dammit!"

"What?" he hissed. "So you can tell me of your fantastical wonderland of sex with Yugi? Why should I give a fuck?"

"Well that's the only solution isn't it?" Téa said, still grasping his arm. "You need to give a fuck in order to get rid of the tension." She giggled slightly, and Marik relented.

"It's not easy, Téa…" he sighed. She looked at him confused, but then frowned.

"Well, if it's a long story, we're going back to the table so that I can finish my cake while you tell your story," she grouched. Marik sighed and ran his hands through his hair. He had difficulty the minute he tried to speak; his throat choked and his eyes stung, but he couldn't cry because he wasn't sad, or angry, just frustrated beyond belief.

"I'm…I don't know," he said, finding it hard to find his words, much less expel them out of his mouth. "I suppose it started right after we started dating. He liked me and I loved him. That's what it always seemed like. He only _liked_ me. There was no passion there, just…obligation." Téa nodded slightly, cake forgotten. "Honestly, Ryou's proposal was just predictable. A nice dinner, a walk in the park, and suddenly, he's on his knee and I'm saying yes," Marik continued. "After that, we kissed, and there was some handholding, and don't get me wrong, I was probably the happiest person ever, but it was just…that was it. No making out, no touching each other, no _sex_." Téa raised an eyebrow.

"What about your wedding night?" she asked. Marik threw his hands up into the air.

"What _about_ our wedding night?" he said shrilly. "He treated me like a princess and I made so many moves that he ignored…it was like he was shooting me down at every turn! Aaaaggghhh…" He leaned back into his chair and brought his hands in his hair again. "He wouldn't even look at me! Just glancing at me would've been enough, but he just completely avoided me like I was some slovenly whore who was begging him for sex. And I couldn't stand it."

"Hey, Marik, you know I hate it when you talk about yourself like that," Téa warned. Marik sighed.

"It's just so hard to value yourself when your own husband can't seem to look at you!" he cried. "I've tried everything! I went on a diet and regular exercise to lose some weight, I got some creams to make me look a bit younger despite my allergies, and I've even gotten another tattoo to make me look, y'know, cooler!"

"Another tattoo?" Téa said, speechless. Marik sighed.

"Yeah. It's his initials on my-"

"Don't say anything more," Téa said hurriedly, raising a hand. "I see your problem, and I'm going to help you solve it." Marik looked at her, wide-eyed and blushing indignantly.

"You know, I was going to say-"

"It doesn't matter," Téa interrupted. "We're going to make it so that Ryou has no choice but to bang you. Come with me." She suddenly grabbed Marik's hand and promptly dragged him out of the café.

"Where are we going?" Marik cried.

"To my house. You said that you tried to do a self makeover, and that obviously failed," Téa scoffed. "You don't have to torture yourself to make yourself beautiful! Everyone's noticed that you've gotten skinnier, but you were never in need of a diet in the first place. I'm going to bring out your inner beauty and give you some tips on how to reel him in!" Marik groaned as Téa started to babble about how she was going to get him laid.

"I thought beauty was pain?" he protested. Téa grinned.

"Beauty is pain, but it's not death!" she accused. "Starving yourself? Getting yourself sick? Tch, you need a lesson from the true master!" Marik sighed as they reached his car, Téa hopping in the passenger seat and giving him a conniving glance.

"Okay, so here's the plan," she began.

"You've already come up with a plan?" Marik said incredulously. Téa shushed him before continuing as the car started to move.

"You're going to be made over. To test whether you're sexy enough, we're going to be going to a bar."

"Bar?" Marik squeaked. Téa nodded gravely.

"The best indication of hotness is at a gay bar. I took Tristan to one not too long ago," she explained. Marik looked a bit surprised.

"Tristan's gay?"

"At any rate, you've got a great face shape and excellent curves. You just need to show them off, and I'm sure you'll get the guys," Téa said happily. "Just leave it to me!"

* * *

><p>"I'm already married!" Marik wailed. "Why the hell am I doing this?" Téa sighed and tightened the laces on the back of the shirt so that Marik's nipples were somewhat visible in the chill.<p>

"It's _because_ you're married that you're doing this! You need to look hot, but not too trashy. Hmm, let's ease up on the makeup a bit. Your eyes are really wide, so that's perfect. They don't need much accent. Let's see, your lips aren't really full, so we'll have to do a bit of this…" Téa muttered, dabbing some agents. Marik stiffly scratched his cheek.

"I don't know…" he said sadly. "I feel like I'm betraying Ryou." Téa growled and slapped him over the head.

"You'll be 'betraying' him even more if you don't show him your sexy self!" she snapped. "I can't believe you were going to wear your leather shirt with an undershirt!"

"I'm not a teenager anymore!" Marik cried. "When it chafes in places where it shouldn't, it seriously _chafes_! My skin is pretty old!"

"Oh cry me a river! You're only 26!" Téa retorted. "Now let's see what we can do about that hair…"

"Yeah, but Ryou still doesn't like me anymore," Marik sighed. "I'm a bit too old for him. There's no attraction there." Téa yanked on Marik's hair and he yelped.

"There, just need some mousse and poof!" she squealed. "Marik, you're an idiot. Ryou is completely head over heels for you. Yugi says that whenever Ryou talks about you, which is often, he might add, he's completely devoted and caring. Duke actually finds it strange considering Ryou can be bitingly sarcastic at times."

"I know," Marik laughed. "Just yesterday he poked his vegetables and asked when dinner was going to be served. I told him that it was right in front of him, you know, the vegetables, and he snapped that he wasn't a rabbit, no matter how white his hair was. I couldn't stop laughing."

"Doesn't sound that funny," Téa muttered, attaching some subtly sexy jewelry on Marik's neck and ears.

"You had to be there," Marik replied happily. He winced as Téa put in strong smelling cologne on his person. "Ah, easy! It's really cold!"

"Relax," Téa said, sticking her tongue out at him. She took a step back and appraised her work. "Marik, stand up straight." Marik stood a bit straighter. "With confidence. Show me a sultry smile." Marik stared at her incredulously, but then placed a hand on the delicate curve of his hip and lidded his eyes. His smile stretched across his face slowly, and Téa felt the sweat break out on the back of her neck.

"Perfect," she breathed. "That just screams 'do me if you dare!' The makeup works perfectly as well…Marik, you're all set!"

"Oh, right. Do we have to go?" Marik whined, his façade all but abandoned. "I feel really uncomfortable."

"Don't be a pussy," Téa grouched. Marik raised an eyebrow. "Actually, never mind. _Do_ be a pussy, because pussies can be tougher than dicks any day." Marik gulped as Téa grabbed some lotion.

"I bought this specifically for you," she said, smiling. "Make sure you appreciate it." Marik looked at the bottle.

"'Amber Spice?'" he read. "I have a ton of these at home! Why do I need another?" Téa rolled her eyes.

"You never use them unless you're going out with your friends! Think about it…wouldn't you love it if Ryou moisturized you every day?" Téa said in a low voice. Marik flushed and shoved her lightly.

"I don't feel completely comfortable with you saying these things," he protested. "It's like you're a sex monkey who's been deprived for too long."

"On the contrary," Téa said, lifting her index finger in the air. "Yugi and I have many kinks. We have sex at least three times a week. On a good week we have it at least once a day." Marik choked.

"I did not need to know that," he said, shuddering. Téa raised an eyebrow.

"Why? You don't think I'm a beast in bed?" she teased. Marik rolled his eyes.

"I know you are, but Yugi…he's so little! It's like you corrupted him or something!" Marik protested. "You cruel siren you." Téa flipped her hair egotistically.

"Glad to know that you know the truth. Now let's get going! The night is young!" she cried.

_Unlike us_, Marik sighed. He didn't want to go. Ryou would be next to the phone on his business trip, probably reading a book or stitching some design while waiting for Marik to call. It was the perfect evening for a warm chat by the fire, and he was missing it to do…this.

Sometimes Marik wondered how this always happened to him.

It didn't take long to arrive at the bar, Téa crossdressing to fit in and Marik trying not to look too conspicuous. A lot of the people looked at him oddly, but most of them were eyeing him up and down in appraisal. He dismissed them as he walked into the club.

"Hold it," the bouncer called, staring at him. Marik gave him a wide-eyed stare that the man instantly misjudged. "Only 18 and up, kid." Marik turned to Téa with shock, mouthing the man's words.

"Show him your ID," Téa replied soothingly, as if speaking to a child. Marik shakily took his ID from his pocket, and the bouncer checked to see if it was fake before sighing and ushering them in.

"Sorry about that, sir," he said indifferently. Marik still looked shell-shocked as he walked in, and the blaring speakers as well as the bright lights didn't help his case any.

"I can't believe…" he said in wonder. Téa slapped the back of his head.

"I told you! 26 is way too young to be worried about your looks!" she laughed. "Now go out there and make everyone fall to your feet!" Marik gave a lopsided smile, but he hadn't gone one step further before someone brushed his ass. Turning, Marik saw a bulky guy give him a smile before winking. He quickly turned back.

"Great, that's the kind of people I attract," he snapped, though there wasn't enough anger in his voice to sound convincing. Téa smiled as she made sure that her "beard" was in place.

"You've passed the preliminaries," she announced in a loud voice. "Now try to nab one a bit younger." Marik turned to her wildly.

"'Nab?'" he said incredulously. "That guy came up to me! Not the other way around!" Téa rolled her eyes.

"That's what I meant!" she said, having to shout over the music. "You have to attract them, but don't encourage them!" Marik bit his lip and nodded, looking forward. It wasn't long before he felt a poke on his arm.

The man was very skinny, and definitely younger than the bulky guy Marik had seen at the entrance. He gave a slimy grin before tugging Marik to the dance floor. Téa, luckily, pulled a sneak attack and yanked Marik right back out before the man could get him back.

"Nice!" she cheered, even as Marik shook a bit.

"That guy was creepy!" he laughed nervously. "Did you see the way he was staring at my crotch?" Téa nodded, frowning.

"Okay, one more and then we'll go," she said. "This one has to be younger than even you." Marik shuddered.

"I didn't come here to be a cradle-robber," he bemoaned, but Téa just shoved him inside the dance floor in the opposite direction of the strange man. There was so much grinding going on, but the people seemed to be enjoying it. Marik was content merely swaying with the crowd or jumping up and down, when suddenly he felt a presence behind him. Two hands took a hold of his hips and wrenched them onto a well-defined crotch. Marik gasped as he turned and saw a young man grinning back and giving several shallow thrusts. He tried to escape, but the man didn't relent and instead made a full-out grind.

"Let go of me!" he screamed, wrenching away and elbowing the boy. He immediately ran to the outskirts of the dance floor and huffed at Téa.

"That's it. Take me home," he said, his voice watery. "I got a younger guy." Téa understood that he was upset, and she wordlessly took him outside of the bar. A bunch of catcalls followed Marik, followed by guys trying to grab his elbow and offer him a drink. Marik politely declined, his emotions slowly winding down.

In the car, he finally spoke.

"I'm never going to a gay bar again," he said stonily. Téa sighed.

"You just don't realize that you had the opposite problem than most people do," she explained. "And you thought you were unattractive. Right. No one could keep their eyes off of you. Ryou doesn't know what he's missing, but you'll make sure to show him in a week, right?"

"I really am not sure about this," Marik moaned. "Why don't we forget this ever happened and try to go back to where we were? You know, when my biggest problem wasn't my sexual tension but the fact that I want a dog and Ryou doesn't?"

"By the time I'm done with you," Téa said in a low, eager voice. "You'll feel so hot you won't ever forget the fated night you finally, finally got that stick out of your ass and a dick to replace it."

* * *

><p>To Marik, the day came all too soon. The week merely flitted by, and he'd felt extremely depressed as he hadn't been able to see Ryou due to the small business trip. Téa had used the time to her advantage, however, prepping him on the course of action he should take as well as taking him shopping to see all the different combinations that would make him look "delicious, devious, and definitely <em>devilish<em>." He would've had more fun had the situation not been dire. He missed Ryou, and his body craved Ryou's body next to him even when they fell asleep. He felt like he could take a whiff of Ryou's hair and it would be enough for him to be ecstatic for the rest of the week.

Okay, so maybe he was a bit crazy regarding the separation. But it'd been their first separation since the times when they were dating, and he hadn't known how accustomed he'd grown to Ryou's mindless chatter and unbelievably sweet caresses until they'd left.

"You ready?" Téa asked excitedly over the phone. Marik hummed in nervousness.

"I still don't see why I can't wear underwear," he said in a high pitched voice. Téa rolled her eyes.

"You're going to do the whole thing right, and that includes being underwear-less. You already disagreed on the thong, after all. I've already run down everything on the list," she reminded him. Marik gulped at the thought of the horrible thong that Téa had wanted him to wear, but nodded, reminded of the sacrifice he'd made for it. He knew that, but still…it was going to be painful. They did a rundown, and Téa gave some words of encouragement before squealing and hanging up. Marik sighed at the phone, then did a mental check up.

His leather pants were somewhat uncomfortable. He'd only worn them as a teenager because he'd wanted the world to know that he was a daredevil. The leather shirt that showed off his midriff only made him extremely grateful that he was inside the house. Leather seemed to be what the Pharaoh and Yugi wore as well, and it seemed like the perfect ensemble for someone who was a hero, and according to Téa, "hot as sin."

Ugh. He really needed to get a new friend.

When he heard the door open, his heart started to race. What was he doing? Why was he dressed like this? Ryou was going to-!

"What…are you wearing, Marik?" came the confused, sweet voice. Oh, how he missed that voice. Marik felt his face flush and tried to remember what Téa'd told him.

"I-I…I," he stuttered intelligently. "Welcome home." Ryou smiled back, utterly bewildered, before going off to the side and setting down his bag.

"What brought this on?" he asked, confused. "I'm surprised that they still fit you." Marik bit his lip. Téa had said that, at this point, Ryou would be gawking at him because he looked very, very sexy. Téa had said that he had to be the assertive one, sexily sultry and enchanting to catch Ryou into his spell. But Ryou looked anything but entranced. In fact, he looked a bit disgusted, and Marik felt very, very awkward.

_Suck it up!_ He told himself. _This is Ryou! He'll catch on!_ So he took a gulp and stepped off the couch.

"I wanted to surprise you," he choked, feeling like he could just fall over dead and just be happy that he got out of the situation. "S-so how bout it?"

"I'm…surprised, to say the least," Ryou replied, his eyes roving Marik's own. "What do you expect me to say?" Marik sighed.

"I expect you to say that it looks good on me," he said with a forced smile, not daring himself to say "sexy." "I don't know whether you like it or not."

"I suppose I do like it," Ryou said, smiling with a hint of adorable confusion. Marik's hopes swelled. "It reminds me of the old days, when we fought vicious demons using only the power of playing cards." Marik laughed, knowing that Ryou expected him to do so. Ryou chuckled as well and shirked off his coat. "Well, I'm going to go change into my nightclothes. Would you care to watch a movie tonight?"

Marik sighed and nodded. The plan was a fluke. Ryou just didn't see him like that.

The thought made him feel a bit worse. Maybe it _was_ his looks? Ryou smiled fondly only when he'd said that it reminded him of better times. Perhaps Marik needed to look younger?

Walking over to the bathroom nearby, Marik stared at the mirror. He'd grown some creases in ten years, he noted. His hair wasn't as…bushy. It mostly stayed on his head as if it had nothing better to do.

He looked tired. Maybe it'd been a long day, but maybe it was just him. Marik sighed and decided to change as well. Walking over to his bedroom (no, he and Ryou didn't even share a bed because they both thought that it'd be awkward), he opened the door and began the strenuous task of peeling his pants off.

His heart leapt to his throat the minute he felt a cold kiss press against the back of his neck. A hand covered his mouth before he could scream, and when he was shoved back into his bed unceremoniously, Ryou was hovering over him, the same sickly sweet smile on his face.

"Did you want to welcome me home the proper way?" he whispered, leaning in and narrowing his eyes. Marik didn't know whether to be completely horrified or incredibly aroused, but he saw a twitch of nervousness in Ryou's smile and immediately wrapped his arms around his neck. Ryou pulled off his hand and buried his face into Marik's shoulder.

"Why now?" Marik asked. "I gave you so many hints!"

"I wanted to surprise you," Ryou said huskily. "You looked so delicious in your ensemble that I wanted to peel it all off of you. Really slowly. I deserve a present, don't I?" Marik's face was beyond hot. He supposed that it was because he was embarrassed, but if that were the case, then why was he smiling like he was sixteen years old again, winning his first card game? He gave one last chance to Ryou, in case he'd wanted to back out…

"Why didn't you do any of this before?" he breathed as Ryou began pressing kisses to his collarbone. Ryou pulled away and glared.

"Because you second guessed," he said simply, pursing his lips. "When you looked at the two rooms, you'd said that you didn't mind sharing a room. You 'didn't mind.' It wasn't like you _wanted_ to share, it was just that if it pleased me, you'd do it. I wanted you to be more convinced of it. I wanted you to want me, but you kept…giving me a way out. Making me believe that you were only doing this for my sake."

"It was for your sake," Marik laughed awkwardly as he struggled not to moan. Ryou had started to lap the hollow of his clavicle. "I wanted you to want me so bad because I wanted you to know I was yours."

"I knew that you were mine, but I didn't know whether you knew I was yours," Ryou growled, his voice reverberating against Marik's throat. Ryou swiftly skated his hands under Marik's leather shirt, but found it hard to reach farther than his wrist. "Take this off."

The authority in Ryou's voice, in his every gesture, was severely turning Marik on. He stared at Ryou with a sultry smile, one that was completely his own with no Téa involved.

"I can't do it myself. I'm afraid to hurt myself. Though," he whispered, leaning in. "I wouldn't mind it if _you_ ripped this off of me." Ryou hummed in a low tone, reaching around Marik to pull at the corset-like laces that strapped him in. When the ensemble fell away, Ryou slowly watched his husband become revealed with a bit of reddened skin from the chafing of the leather. Marik flushed, feeling humiliated at the lack of seductive bronze he was used to sporting. Ryou smiled and pecked him on the lips.

"Still beautiful," he hissed evilly. Marik responded with a wicked grin of his own, and suddenly pushed Ryou away. When Ryou looked back, confused and a bit hurt, Marik held up a finger.

"You said that you thought that I wasn't doing this for myself," Marik said softly. "Well I want to show you that I am. I want to show you that this is all for me." Ryou seemed a bit more confused, but his eyes widened in realization as Marik pulled out a bottle of lotion from the nightstand. His hands began shaking, but Marik only spared him an innocent glance before taking out the cap of the lotion. Shimmying out of his pants and cheering at himself for making it look seductive, Marik fell back and sighed against the softness of the pillows. Glancing at Ryou, who was entranced by his figure, Marik smiled sweetly.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked mischievously. "Like I'm withholding a treat from you?" Ryou reached out to touch him, take him into his arms, do _something_, but Marik slapped his hand gently. If there was one thing Téa'd taught him, it was that good things came to those who waited. Even in the bedroom.

Marik arched his back as if he'd done this a hundred times. Kissing the nozzle of the lotion, he brought the tip to his chest and squeezed lightly.

At once, the room smelled like spice and amber. Ryou gave a small whine as he saw Marik make small circles at the pea-sized amount, which disappeared in an instant.

"Oh, you liked that?" Marik said silkily. "How about this?" The truth was that Marik had gone shopping with Téa, and all of his devious antics was a product of what he'd heard from her stories of sex with Yugi. Marik didn't know anything like "normal sex." He just hoped that Ryou wouldn't notice that this adventurous escapade was only because he hadn't been taught in the traditional way of making love.

Ryou, of course, knew the traditional way from his constant outings with Yugi, Joey, and Tristan. But seeing Marik take charge, wanting this, wanting _him_…it was just ecstasy.

His thoughts were interrupted just as Marik gave a hiss and a glob of lotion landed on that rich, brown nipple.

"Oh…" Marik breathed as he gave the same treatment to the other one. "Unh, Ryou…come and touch." With another decisive maneuver, he put one last large amount on his navel, right where his hairs led to his arousal. Ryou's own was slowly awakening as he gazed at his husband's body. Sure, he'd imagined his first time with Marik, but to see this devious side to him almost had him fully hard and ready instantly.

Ryou gently blew on the cool lotion, and Marik hissed as his sensitive skin became a bit cooler.

"You bastard," he hissed. "Make it feel good…don't torture me…!" But Ryou had heard the weakness in his voice. He smiled. Now it was his turn to take charge, and he wasn't letting it go that easily. Seeing his husband's body below him, pliant and ready to be taken, was what he'd fantasized since he'd married Marik. Seeing him about to be slathered in lotion and smirking that evil little grin of his was just a really sexy bonus.

He wondered what it would take before that smile became a series of moans?

Marik thrust his head back and closed his eyes tightly as Ryou began circling his nipples. The lotion had warmed with his body heat, but Ryou's ministrations felt like he'd done this several times. Marik was helpless as Ryou decided to focus on one breast in particular, abusing the nipple with his mouth while ignoring the taste of the lotion. His hands danced around and groped while also spreading the lotion, causing Marik to arch and shake and clench his teeth to hold in his moan.

When Ryou turned his attention onto the other side, Marik was completely moisturized and dazed. His cock was hard at attention, but, of course, Ryou wasn't paying attention. _He knows_, Marik thought angrily. _He knows and he's not doing anything about it because he likes to torture me…!_

But then the hand that was slowly squeezing and pinching his second nipple suddenly performed a new task. Marik bit his lip and a new rush came over him as Ryou focused his attentions to the lotion around his belly.

And suddenly, Marik felt the ministrations stop.

"What is it, Ry-" he began, but his words died in his throat. Ryou was looking at something on his hip. And that something was _exactly_ what Marik thought it was.

There were no words. Ryou suddenly ducked down to Marik's hip and planted kiss after kiss on his initials, tattooed to Marik just as his hands were stuck on his skin. Marik sighed as Ryou licked and kissed harshly, then gasped as he began to nip. They were light at first, but Ryou grew more aggressive until Marik knew that there'd be a bruise tomorrow.

Ryou smiled. Though he moved on from that area, one of his hands constantly trailed the raised flesh that indicated his abuse. He gripped and squeezed over and over again, groping the flesh that had his name on it, that belonged to him.

He then formed a serious face. Now it wasn't about languid massages and kisses. He wanted to have Marik all to himself, not merely a piece of him on an admittedly tantalizing area of his body. After spreading the lotion to a liberal amount, he swung his hand and slapped Marik's stomach. It wasn't hard enough to hurt, but Marik was startled all the same. Two of Ryou's fingers became claws that scratched the surface of Marik's skin, taking with them a small pool of lotion under each fingernail. Ryou moved them this way and that, slathering them in the lotion. Marik started to breathe a little faster as he realized what Ryou was about to do, but he closed his eyes and waited for the body signal.

There was none.

A flip was switched inside of Ryou, and he leaned down to lick Marik's lips and give him a cruel smirk before nudging his legs open none-too-gently and scratching at his hole.

"Aah!" Marik gasped, arching away from the touch. Ryou frowned playfully and circled the ring of muscle, as if apologizing to the tortured flesh.

"Did that hurt?" he asked innocently.

"Not as much as you're going to hurt if you don't put it _in_ already!" Marik threatened, and for some reason, it was all Ryou wanted to do. To plunge himself in and keep himself there. To fill Marik and remind him that he's _his_, no one else's. Not Téa's, not his family's, _his_.

And Marik felt the same way. So instead of waiting for Ryou to ask for the okay, he promptly snatched the hand that was _just_ at the opening and shoved it in as far as it could go.

They both groaned, though Ryou's was louder. Marik's passage was clenching him from all sides, urging him in, welcoming him home. He stared at Marik's uncomfortable squirms until Marik relaxed and gave him a silent cue to move on. His finger explored involuntarily, trying to make sense of this strange area that had Marik making delicious moans and Ryou's cock hardening a bit faster. After all their devious antics, they were still getting to know their bodies in the most intimate of ways. Marik rubbed a foot along Ryou's calf lovingly as Ryou's finger wiggled and crooked at random intervals.

The second finger was surprising, and Marik knew that fitting in another one would be too hard for his opening to deal with, but when Ryou started to scissor and scrape lightly, he suddenly arched.

"Marik?"

"Do that again!" Marik gasped. Ryou tried to find what he'd done. "No, not there. There! Again! Oh god Ryou!" And Ryou suddenly had a strong grip in his hair that shoved his head down to Marik and caused him to inadvertently press against the spot relentlessly, causing Marik to moan as he lavished his mouth with kisses. Ryou pinched, scraped, flicked, and pushed against the area, watching in wonder as Marik growled in need and spread his legs out further.

"I want you," Marik said huskily, not playing games anymore. Ryou tried to add a third finger before Marik ripped all three out and scooted closer to Ryou. "Give it to me. It's been long overdue." With a well-placed grind, Ryou pushed him back and began thrusting his cock against his own arousal.

"Nnn…" Ryou hummed as his hips jerked reflexively. Marik gasped in choppy "ha's" that served to arouse Ryou further. Suddenly, Marik placed two strong arms at Ryou's biceps, stopping him. Looking up at Ryou, Marik smirked.

"You just going to leave this body without giving it what it wants?" he crooned, using that playful, teasing tone that drove Ryou insane. "I'm begging you, Ryou. Give me what we've both been wanting…please." Ryou growled and slowly aimed himself. Marik was in charge of his senses, and he didn't want that anymore. He wanted to see his husband in the throes of pleasure, the lotion coming off of him as rivulets of sweat shone on his body with every thrust. And Marik's sweat was prickling his arms and torso in ways that drove Ryou crazy. Marik was aroused. He was as ready as Ryou was.

And so Ryou pushed in.

A low, elegant moan filled the room, the combination of the Marik's pain and pleasure, as well as Ryou's sense of completeness and worth. Marik's sheath was the center of the earth; the center of the universe. The center of _his_ universe, at any rate. Marik was his, his, _his_.

Ryou was his, his, his. Ryou, the one who was over him and giving him his all. Marik stared at Ryou dazedly as he tried to adjust to the pain. This was his husband inside of him. His husband that was giving him a piercing stare that told him that he was important. His husband who was more significant than death and life themselves. Marik wrapped his arms around Ryou and held him close, hooking his legs around Ryou's hips. Though Téa had told him that there were better positions, he didn't give a fuck. He wanted to be as close to Ryou as possible, and if his legs could help him get that wonderful feeling deeper into him, deeper so that he couldn't figure out where he ended and Ryou began, then so be it.

He tightened his legs and pushed Ryou in deeper using his feet, then rocked his hips to encourage a rhythm.

Ryou started to breathe heavily in anticipation as he gave short, shallow thrusts that had Marik panting and pleading him for more. A sharp thrust had Marik arching his back and falling back down from his high once more.

"Good," he laughed. "You remembered where to go." Ryou smirked.

"All I want to hear from you are moans and 'Ryou don't stop!' Okay?" he said sweetly, kissing Marik's gaping mouth, then leaning down and softly biting his nipple to distract him a bit. As Marik hissed at the pain and pleasure, Ryou gave another hard thrust that sent him reeling.

Marik was in cloud nine. The sounds of lovemaking filled the room as his partner dug deeper, his hands supporting Marik by the small of his back and stroking his arousal roughly. His mouth was busy drinking in Marik's moans just as Marik was biting his lips to absorb his grunts.

"Ah, Ryou!" Marik groaned. "Ryou! Y-yes…there-oh! Mmm…don't-don't stop…ah! Yes, yes, YES!" Ryou relished in his vocal hisses, smirking against the flushed skin and thrusting deeper, sliding alongside Marik's prostate relentlessly. Marik was a mess, but Ryou was an even bigger one. His hair was in disarray, and he didn't even have the power to speak, let alone stop.

"Uh-ah…AAAAH!" Marik screamed, his release leaving him gasping. He lay there, dazed, as Ryou began thrusting in a frenzy. Marik's heat had become unbearably tight, and as per instinct, Ryou wanted to get as deep as possible before he came.

Marik's supple body took him in. He watched as the sweat rolled off of Marik's torso and his eyes were mesmerized by the golden sheen that it gave his hair. With a sudden slam, he released inside of his husband. His, his, his. How he loved that word…

The hot fluid inside of him make Marik want to cry. Whether it was happiness, sadness, or relief, he didn't know. All he knew was Ryou. Now Ryou had given him a piece of him. Now he was truly one with Ryou. The rings around their fingers now held the memory of their passion for each other. Marik turned his head to his husband's gasping body as he lay beside him, their hands intertwined even as they came down from their high. Marik wasted no time in gathering Ryou into his arms and kissing the top of his head.

"You were great. That was amazing!" he said in wonder. Ryou tilted his head up and kissed Marik's jawline.

"Why are you crying?" he suddenly asked. "Are you hurt?" Marik shook his head, laughing at the very thought. Yes he was hurt. Yes, he knew that he wouldn't be able to get up tomorrow without cursing Ryou to hell and back. But he finally understood the reason he was crying, even if it encompassed happiness and relief.

"I'm crying because I'm finally yours," he said ecstatically. "It's love, I think." Ryou smiled and hummed against Marik's chin.

"I'm glad, then," he chuckled sweetly. "Now we belong to each other completely." Marik smiled and said nothing, stroking Ryou's back as the exhausted man fell asleep. He felt his heart thrum against Ryou's ear, and he fancied that, as his hand rubbed against Ryou's chest, that their hearts complemented each other, beating when the other wasn't to create a constant tattoo.

* * *

><p>"So I'm assuming it went well?" Téa giggled, looking up at Marik's pouting face and the hickey Ryou had given him this morning.<p>

"Shut up and eat your cake," he sniped. "It went impossibly well. I can't believe that one of your hare-brained schemes worked out the way it did." Téa set her fork down and smiled at Marik warmly.

"Hey, it's a best friend's job to make her friend happy," she said warmly. Placing her hand on Marik's she squeezed. "You don't know how beautiful you are. I had Yugi teach me that, and I love him so much for it. You, however, didn't allow Ryou to get close to you like that, and in return, Ryou didn't let you see his weakness." Marik laughed lightly, squeezing her hand back.

"Yeah, I finally figured it out. Thank you so much, Téa. I'm so glad that you're my best friend, even if you are a bit much sometimes." Téa smiled and lifted her hand to flick Marik's forehead.

"You can't tell me that I'm too much," she snapped playfully. "You're the one who was lamenting at his old age when you were only 26!"

"Well I-!" Marik protested, but just then, both of their phones rang. Téa raised an eyebrow and pulled out her obnoxiously colored phone (it was so obnoxious that she just _had_ to buy it. It pretty much demanded her total attention) as Marik took out a sleek silver one.

"Yugi?" she greeted happily.

"Ryou?" Marik greeted shyly.

"No, it's my lunch break. I'm just hanging out and torturing Marik," Téa giggled.

"Téa's reaffirming herself as my best friend by making me pay for her favorite cake," Marik sighed. They both glanced at each other and stuck their tongues out at the same time, then laughed silently about it.

"What?" Téa said curiously. Marik hid a secret smile behind his hand.

"Alright, Ryou. I'll call in sick," Marik crooned into the phone, hearing Ryou's splutters on the other end. "No worries. I want to spend as much time with you as possible, too." Ryou protested fruitlessly, though Marik could tell he was pleased. When he was done speaking, Téa was staring at her phone ponderingly. Marik smiled at her.

"So what did Yugi have to say?" he asked. Téa snapped out of her reverie and gave Marik a confused smile.

"He wants to see me right away. He says that it can't wait," she said confusedly. Marik sighed and leaned back to pop his spine before getting up.

"I think that you should go see him," he shrugged. "Mai will understand. After all, she has these issues with Joey all the time." Mai, as Téa's boss, loved the girl to bits and often let her get away with anything because of the way Téa often covered for her at the last minute when she went out with Joey.

"And Bakura might give you crap, but he'll understand too," Téa winked. "He and Duke can't keep their hands off of each other." Marik flushed a deep red as he finished texting to his boss. When the immediate reply contained an empty threat about killing him when he came back, he knew that he'd be alright. Seeing his ring glinting in the sunlight, he knew that Téa would be alright as well.

"I seriously think that you should go ASAP," he said seriously. "Yugi doesn't usually call you out in the middle of lunch and ask you to leave your job." Téa flushed a little and smiled.

"Yeah. I just wonder what it could be," she said softly, love saturating her features. Marik bit his lip, wanting to tell her. Wanting to flash his hand at her a little bit to give her a hint, wanting to point out that Yugi had been appraising diamonds all over Domino, trying to find the perfect one for his perfect woman…

But Téa let him have his own course, and it was only fair to let her have her own as well. He knew that she would say yes. He knew that they would be happy.

"Well, duty calls!" Téa chirped, picking up her obnoxious purple bag (just too annoying to resist!) and waving to Marik. "Or, well, in your case, booty calls!" Marik only spared her a half-hearted dirty look. He knew what was going to happen, so he waved to her with all the vigor of a friend happy for another friend. Then, well, he turned home. Ryou had wanted him to watch a cheesy Disney movie with him with popcorn and mozzarella cheese sticks. It screamed "unproductive," "unhealthy," and "childish."

But then, Marik was Ryou's before he was anyone else's, so he didn't care about what they all said. He walked home happily, expecting to throw popcorn at a singing Snow White with the man who belonged with him.

* * *

><p>I liked this one mainly because of Téa. Oh, and the sex.<p> 


	26. Zigzag

AN: The short piece where it's all over...FINALLY!

* * *

><p>Zigzag<p>

"_Marik, what do you see in him?"_

Sometimes I think about the past and how much both of us have gone through. It seems really far away now, because between Ryou and I there was nothing back then. Well, there was Bakura, but Ryou hated me for being his lackey and I hated Ryou for his weakness in dealing with him.

I hadn't known, and I still didn't know, how strong it was of Ryou to resist Bakura. But even stronger was his ability to forgive, even after all of his life had gone to waste. Ryou still sleeps with a nightlight. I am powerless to stop him.

When we got into that fight about the mortgage payments, Ryou had stayed silent until I had to fess up and say that I was wrong. I knew that I wasn't completely wrong, but Ryou wouldn't admit that he was wrong until I did. It infuriated me because we both wanted to think that we were right. But when it comes to him, I can't stay angry. I know that there are much better things that I could be doing with him instead of against him, and I just give it all up.

Remember how I had that drinking problem? The one that lasted years after I'd married him? I know that you were willing to offer your support, but Ryou was the one who was strong enough to put his foot down and tell me to get my fucking act together. He probably hurt the most, all things considered. He still hurts, and I still turn the other cheek when I see our friends bring out the booze when we invite them over.

But he never taunted me or berated me. He stuck with me, talked me through it, did his best. And so I could only do my best in return. It took three years and I had four relapses. And he was there with me for all of it.

Huh. Why do I love Ryou Bakura? Because he's gorgeous when he's happy and even more beautiful when he loves me. He's crazier than a tie-dye lab coat when he's in a fun mood, and calmer than the most abandoned pond when he catches my sorrow. He makes sense when the rest of the world doesn't. He…

I don't know how to answer your question completely. I'd like to say that I love how he puts on his socks, and how even though he despises peas he eats them because he feels obligated to eat his vegetables like a kid. I can't tell you that when he's doing the taxes and complaining about all the stupid questions he looks like home. I can't explain how the fact that he always puts peanut butter before the jelly is charming to no end.

He's always there. With open arms. When I was younger, there were times when I would feel like I was scrabbling hopelessly for friction to pull myself up and together. The pain of not knowing what was right or wrong was akin to the pain of scratching and clawing for ground until my hands bruised and bled. With Ryou, I know I could let go and fall back into his arms. I knew that I didn't need the surface anymore because he could fly me away.

If I could explain why I love Ryou, I would scream it from the mountains until it echoes in the seas. I would roll the words in my mouth trying to catch that perfect gleam he emits. I would lift my soul upwards in order to carry the upheaval of my feelings for him and burst into flame to spread it to all the curves of the Earth. But I can't. I can only hope that he understands how much I love him, and how much I know of his love for me.

I see in Ryou my future and my past. I see in him my heart and my dependence. I hope you see in him that he's everything I could have ever wanted.

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><p>"<em>Ryou, why do you love Marik?"<em>

Is this really a question that needs to be answered? Because if so, then it'll be hard to put it into words.

Marik is an inspiration. You've seen the beauty of his movements, the clever edge of his words. The man is a walking piece of art. I wonder why no one had been waiting to snag him already.

Before I go to teach at school every day Marik makes me a lunch and kisses me goodbye before heading over to work. His smiles light up the entire morning and draws me back every evening. Marik keeps me sane sometimes when the rest of the world refuses to make sense. And then he turns around and becomes the only chaos in a world of monotony.

We have this ritual that we do where he walks the dog and I feed the fish if my favorite song plays on the radio while we're cooking dinner. It's swapped if his favorite song plays. It's such a routine now that I don't know what I'd do if it had to end. I feel like neither the fish nor the dog would get their treatments because I'd be too discouraged.

He's a leech, always sucking up everything I have to offer. But in doing so he ingrains himself into my life and I can't bear to shake him off. Marik is a drug that I can't get enough of. It's damaging, it's radiant.

Marik always tell me that I'm like the moon, but I find that too boring to be poetic. In the moon, there's nothing but dust and the reflection of the sun. In that way, I'm like Marik's reflection; his sidekick. There's no way that anyone can contest Marik's likeness to the sun. He breathes life into everything he does. I can't get enough of it.

That marks my desperation to Marik, but it only encompasses one of the reasons why I love him. Marik protects me from myself. He protects me from others and worries over me like no one ever has. It reminds me of my family, and rightly so, because Marik _is_ family.

I cheated on him once. I'd had enough and we had been fighting. In fact, I went home and he was asleep on the couch waiting for me with a note that said "Ryou, I'm sorry." At the time, I hadn't been. I woke him up and blandly told him that I'd cheated on him.

Marik had stared at me for a full minute with a medley of emotions. Hurt and pain were prevalent. I had never felt more like Bakura.

Then he said that he didn't blame me, that his drinking problem would have driven anyone away. I instantly snapped him out of it. He didn't believe me, but he went with it. He emailed a guild of Alcoholics Anonymous that night and began the treacherous ascent from his problem. It didn't help that his low self-esteem was fueling it, but he went along with it.

He praised me endlessly. I gave all that I got. Eventually, we sat down and talked about it, and he left me breathless.

So much life, so much forgiveness, and so much love all poured into one creature. He told me honestly what he thought of me, that I was wrong to have cheated on him but I was also driven by our arguments and humiliation at his drinking. He told me that I was the wind beneath his wings, the one who inspired him to be greater than ever. I had told him that he inspired me, that it _couldn't_ be the other way around. Brilliant Marik, coupled with the little wallflower…

But then he said that I was like the moon. People wrote songs about the moon's ethereal beauty and worshipped its ever changing shape. He was no poet, he admitted, but he knew that I was a rarity. That once I shone, I was the beginning of something magical.

It's hard to say why I love Marik. Maybe it's because he loves me just as much. Maybe because...he's the one who taught me something everlasting.

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><p>Thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and looked at this fic! Makes me happy :)<p> 


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